Snowing's girls
by JustMeAndMyKeyboard
Summary: Snow and Charming are once again at war with George. Although this time he has an advantage, he knows their main weakness. Their children. Will Snow and Charming be able to protect their daughters Marali and Emma from his vengeful wrath? The T rating is just for safety :).
1. Marali escapes

_So I thought I'd try my hand at a multi chapter fic again :). If I'm honest, this is me testing the water as this is something I actually wrote years ago (well, 32 pages of it) and thought I'd use this as a test run, as I have a new idea I hope to get around to at some point. So, anyway, I promise to update when I can. Our Charming Family will remain my top concern, but requests will be accepted for this story too. Although, like I said, I have already wrote 32 pages of it so it might take a while for your request to get in there haha. So, without further delay, I hope you enjoy :)_

"Marali?" Snow asked, poking her head inside their tent. She smiled when she saw Marali lying staring at the top of the tent. "Still bored, huh?" She asked. Marali sighed.

"Yup." She said without moving. Snow moved over and sat on the edge of the makeshift bed.

"Your dad and Emma will be back in a few days, you'll have company again soon." Snow said softly.

"Or… I could go out with you and fight…" Marali tried. Snow groaned slightly.

"We've been through this," She said, tucking some hair behind Marali's ear. "I don't want either of you fighting. You're too young. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you…"

"I'm stronger than you think." Marali said, sitting up, slightly huffy. Snow couldn't help but give it a small smile. Who would have thought her stubbornness would come back to haunt her in the form of her daughter?

"No honey, I know how strong you are. But that doesn't make George's army any less strong. And you know you're a target. Sorry honey, but I won't risk it." Snow said, getting up. Marali might not be allowed to fight, but she had to get back to the battle. "Marcus will be outside as always. If you need anything, tell him." Snow told her, stroking her cheek.

"I don't need a babysitter, or a prison officer…" Marali muttered. Snow chuckled.

"Even so, he'll be there. I'll come back as soon as I can." Snow said, leaving the tent.

Marali slumped back on the bed, mind-numbingly bored. Her eyes were wondering around the tent when she spotted it. A thin line of light at the back of the tent. Marali grinned, there was a back exit.

"Time for some action." She said quietly to herself, grabbing her sword (just because she wasn't meant to fight didn't mean her mom would leave her defenceless). As quietly as possible, she slipped out of the back of the tent and dashed for the battlefield. Her grin spread wider across her face as she ran. This had been the most fun she'd had in days. She soon spotted the closest battle going on, and got herself stuck in. It wasn't long before she'd taken out the small group.

"Marali?" She heard a startled voice from behind her. She looked around to see her astonished mother.

"Hey mom!" She said brightly. "Fancy seeing you here!" Snow closed her eyes and rubbed her temple.

"You found the back exit, didn't you?" She grumbled. All Snow got in reply was a grin. Snow pointed back towards the tent. "Guess we'll need someone on there now, tent. Now." Snow ordered. Marali defiantly shook her head.

"No way! I just got out. You saw me take out those guards, I can do this mom!" Marali pleaded. Snow came over and took Marali's face in her hands.

"I know you can. But I don't trust George's army. I need to keep you safe. Please, for me, go back." Marali could see the pure fear in her mother's eyes, and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine." She grumbled. Snow sighed in relief and kissed her forehead.

"Quickly now, before…"

"It's too late?" Someone interrupted her. Both Snow and Marali whipped their heads up to see they'd been surrounded by guards who'd hid in the forest. "I'm afraid it is, your majesties." He grinned. And then the fight started. Snow and Marali each had two guards to face. Both were managing to keep the upper hand, but hadn't noticed an extra guard sneaking up behind Marali. He whirled her around, and before she had a chance to defend herself he managed to swipe at her stomach.


	2. Injured

_Guest: Neal isn't a girl. This is Emma's older sister. This is why I tagged OC in the characters._

* * *

She gasped in pain, causing Snow to turn to look at her.

"Marali!" She cried. Sheer terror for Marali gave Snow enough adrenaline to defeat her guards as well as Marali's. She then rushed to Marali's side to see her pale, with a thin line of blood seeping through her top. "Ok," She said calmly. "I need to patch that up. Can you walk if I help?" Snow asked. Marali nodded, and Snow helped her up and kept her steady, desperately wishing David had been here to carry her for quickness. Slowly, they made their way towards the tent, Marali leaning on Snow more with each step.

"Almost there." Snow assured her. But as they approached the tent, they saw it too had been overrun with George's army. Snow quickly pulled Marali behind a tree in the forest.

"We need to get you out of here." She said quickly, now rather grateful Marali had snuck out. Yes, she was injured, but had she been there when the tent was overrun it could have been a lot worse. "My horse isn't too far into the forest. We'll get away and find one of our allies to ask for help." Snow said, helping Marali keep moving.

They eventually reached the horse, and Snow just managed to help Marali get on before pulling herself up too. Snow was deeply concerned about how much she was having to do to keep Marali sitting upright. Snow set off at a gallop, not wanting to waste any time.

"Philip and Aurora are closest" She told Marali. "We'll head there." Marali nodded, feeling sleepy. "Don't fall asleep!" Snow said, panicked. "Keep talking to me baby." Marali mumbled something that Snow couldn't make out. "Um… tell me the rules for having foreign guests in the castle!" She said, desperately trying to think of something that would keep her focused.

"Really?" Marali muttered.

"Yes, really, go!" Snow said, wanting to keep her awake. Marali began to recite the rules, and Snow kept listening to make sure she was still awake. But then, Snow saw something in front of her. She reluctantly halted her horse when she saw that they were spikes and tried to find another route, but they were surrounded.

"No escaping this time." A deep voice called from behind them. Snow's heard froze as she turned her horse around to face King George. She pulled Marali closer.

"Please," Snow begged. "She's hurt, badly. I need to get her medical attention." Snow pleaded. George just smiled.

"Well you should have thought of that before bringing your child into a war with me. Besides, she's why I'm here." Snow's lips pulled back into a snarl.

"You're not taking her." Snow snarled. George grinned.

"You give me the girl, and I withdraw the North troops. When I have them both this all ends." George said smugly. "Two lives and you'll save hundreds." He bargained.

"My daughter stays with me and we will win this war!" Snow told him. She eyed up the spike before making a rash decision. It was the only shot she had at keeping her daughter safe. She kicked into the horse's side and shot towards the spikes, leaping over them.

"After her!" George yelled. Snow didn't look back, just kept going. She didn't see that none of George's soldier's horses would jump the spikes. After about twenty minutes, Snow slowed down. To her immense relief, Marali was still awake. But she looked far too pale.

"Stay with me baby." Snow said calmly. "We'll camp soon. And then tomorrow we'll arrive at Aurora and Philip's castle. We can get you properly sorted then. I'll do my best with what I can tonight." Snow said, trying to keep Marali awake with her voice. Marali nodded groggily.

"Mom?" She asked.

"Yeah honey?"

"Why does King George want us so much?" Marali asked. Snow had to think carefully before answering.

"Because he wants to hurt your father and me." Snow said. "And the best way to do that is through you two. Now you see why we won't let you fight? It's not even a target on you, it's a total spotlight. This is a good clearing, we can camp here for the night." Snow helped Marali off of the horse and helped her get settled under a tree. "I can hear a stream to the west." Snow told her. "I need to keep you hydrated…"

"You can't leave!" Marali said, panicking. Snow reached out and stroked her cheek. She tucked some of her jet black hair behind her ear. One of the few physical features Marali got from her. Well, Marali's was poker straight where Snow's was curly, but it was close enough. She looked much more like her father. She had his stunning blue eyes and was tall like him. She definitely had his charm too, as well as his cheek. Emma looked more like Snow, with the exception of having her dad's blonde hair but with Snow's curls.

"I have to," She explained. "I'll be back before you know it. Don't worry, you're perfectly safe." Snow said soothingly. Marali's breathing began to even out again.

"You'll come back, promise?" She asked, feeling vulnerable. Snow nodded.

"Of course I will. I won't leave you again." Snow got up.

"If anyone does get too close: scream and I'll come running, understood?" Marali nodded. "That's my girl. I'll see you in a few minutes." Marali sat terrified waiting for Snow. She froze when she heard footprints, too afraid to follow her mother's orders and scream. She had never felt more relieved when she saw her mother appear from the bushes.

"It's just me." Snow said calmly. Snow was holding a large shell. She came over to Marali and manoeuvred her so that Marali's head was in her lap. She pressed the shell to her lips. "Here, slow sips." Marali didn't even argue, she was too thirsty. When she had finished, Snow took off one of her shirts.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Marali asked. "You need all your layers, you'll freeze!" Snow shushed her, stroking her cheek, before ripping a strip from the jumper.

"I'll be fine, but you need a makeshift bandage." Marali looked down, embarrassed.

"You didn't have to do that…" Snow made her look up.

"Yes, I did." Snow secured the bandage around Marali's wound.

"There, that should hold until we reach Aurora and Philip's castle tomorrow." She told Marali, settling down beside her. "You rest. I'll keep watch." Marali shook her head.

"Mom, I've been sleeping all day while you've been riding, and you're riding again tomorrow. Please, let me…" Snow shook her head stopping her.

"You need that rest to heal. Besides, I'd happily miss a week's worth of sleep to keep you safe." Marali couldn't deny that she was exhausted, and Snow could see it. She started stroking through Marali's hair. Marali's eyes narrowed.

"That's cheating." She said groggily. Snow smiled.

"It's simply bending the rules to my advantage." She replied. And it worked, within a minute Marali was sound asleep.

The next morning, Snow helped Marali back on the horse and they managed to complete the journey to Aurora and Philip's castle.

"Who goes there?" A guard called down, as Snow and Marali approached the gate.

"Queen Snow White and Princess Marali!" Snow called back. "Please, let us in quickly, my daughter is injured!"

"Of course Your Highness!" The guard responded, immediately beginning to lower the gate. Snow gently rubbed Marali's back.

"You're going to be ok now." She said gently. Marali only nodded weakly in reply. Snow charged in as soon as the gate was lowered to find Aurora already standing there.


	3. A sanctuary

_A couple of people have asked about Charming and Emma. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about them, the next chapter is all about them. There are reasons the start is all about Snow and Marali, but I'm not going to get into that :)._

 _Guest: I wrote that chapter over a year ago? Is your life that empty that it's still bothering you now? Goodness gracious! Here's a thought, if you don't like what I write, don't read it. If you feel the need to whine, grow a pair and log in rather than doing it anonymously. I don't like cowards. Sorry everybody!_

 _Guest: I promise that's clarified later on, but to put your mind at ease, good guessing :). Emma has just turned 14, Marali will soon turn 16._

"Snow!" She shouted, clearly worried. "What's happened? Is everything ok?" A guard came over and helped Snow get Marali off the horse whilst another then took the horse to the stables. Snow shook her head.

"George, he's…" Snow glanced over at Marali, and decided this conversation was best held in private. "Well, we can discuss that once Marali has got the medical help she needs. She was cut by a sword. Not too deep, but she lost a lot of blood and I could only give her a makeshift bandage. She'll be in a fair amount of pain so she'll need some strong herbs if you have them." Snow asked Aurora who nodded in reply.

"Of course Snow." She said, calling over a guard to inform their castle physician of the patient that would soon be arriving.

"I'm fine…" Marali hissed through the pain as one of the guards picked her up and began to carry her through the castle whilst Snow held her hand.

"No, you're not." Snow said simply. "You need to get proper medical help." They arrived at the physician's room who went straight to work. Snow refused to leave her side the whole time. He had given her some powerful herbs that, as well as taking away the pain, made her very sleepy. Snow gently stroked her forehead.

"You're safe now. You can sleep." Snow whispered. Marali looked up at her with heavy eyes.

"Mom." She said weakly, but Snow knew she was scared.

"Don't worry." Snow assured her. "I'll be right here when you wake up, ok? But you need to rest for me now." Snow could tell Marali was fighting it, so began to hum a tune she'd sang to the girls when they were little. It had the desired effect, leaving Marali sounds asleep. When Snow was sure she wasn't going to wake, she left the room to find Aurora, leaving the guard on the door with strict instructions to come find her immediately should Marali wake. Snow eventually found Aurora in the meeting room.

"Snow," Aurora said, standing up. "Is Marali alright?" She asked, concerned. Snow nodded.

"Yes, thanks to your physician's assistance she'll make a full recovery." Snow said, squeezing Aurora's hand in thanks. Snow then walked to the window and summoned a bluebird. "I just need to send a message to my husband telling him to meet us here." Snow explained, scribbling the short message on a piece of parchment and attaching it to the bird's leg. It didn't have any details on it. Charming was with Emma who panicked easily and the last thing Snow needed was an Emma ready to run.

"What happened?" Aurora asked when the bird had flown away.

"George happened." Snow sighed, before explaining everything to Aurora. When she had finished, Aurora looked horrified.

"He's heartless." She choked. "Going after your daughter like that. It's unforgivable!" She ranted. She then placed her hands on Snow's shoulders.

"Our army will put in extra soldiers to assist you. He won't get away with this! And until this is all over your family can stay here. I know you won't have the girls back anywhere near the field and I know you won't leave them so you can all stay." Snow smiled at her friend.

"Thank you, Aurora. Your kindness is much appreciated. For now, I must return to Marali. I don't want her alone just now if I can help it." Aurora nodded.

"Of course. I understand. If you need anything just tell a guard at the door. You shall have everything you ask for." Snow smiled in appreciation.

Over the next three days, Snow barely left Marali's side as she regained her strength.

"You can leave the room, you know." Marali joked on the third day. "I won't be kidnapped." Snow gave her a stern look.

"That's not even remotely funny given the situation." She scolded. Marali grinned sheepishly.

"Come on mom, a little laughter is helpful every now and again. Don't be so worried. I'll be fine. George can't get us here." Marali said. Snow sighed and placed some hair behind Marali's ear.

"That doesn't stop me worrying." Snow explained. "I'll never stop worrying about you, not for as long as I live." Marali rolled her eyes.

"Just great." She mumbled. "Every time I get a scratch I'll get locked in a room…"

"That is not just a scratch!" Snow argued back. "It's a serious wound. It could have…" A cough alerted the pair to a guard at the door. Both turned their heads towards him.

"Your highnesses," He said politely. "your husband and Princess Emma have arrived."


	4. On the outskirts

_Right, rant ahead so some of you may want to skip ahead to the line if you haven't had a complaint about my story. Otherwise, here we go..._

 _No, Neal isn't in this story. If you don't want to read it because of that I won't lose any sleep over it. I thought calling it Snowing's girls and not mentioning him in the description might be a bit of a clue but a think some of you need to have something to whine about in life so if it makes you feel better whining about no Neal then there we go. I think your life will go on._

 _Onto the next major whine, that I do not treat Snowing equally. This whole chapter will catch you up with Emma and Charming, then the family will be reunited and there is plenty of Snowing and Charming individually to come. Just because the story didn't start the way you wanted doesn't mean you should throw all your toys out the pram._

 _This fandom is segmented enough without people from within the one section splitting off and trying to make others take sides. Grow up._

 _I do this because it makes me happy, but if all I get is put downs because I'm not writing to someone's taste (how very dare I), I'm not prepared to put myself out there for someone who doesn't even have the guts to log in. I don't make any of you read this, and I'm prepared to bet none of you being so downright nasty (there's a difference between giving a person constructive criticism and just being a bint because something isn't the way you want it) would say it to my face. Remember, see behind this computer screen, I'm an actually living, breathing, person with feelings. Imagine someone throwing a tantrum to a friend of yours for posting something they'd created online. I bet you'd not be happy._

 _Last but not least, tomorrow is my birthday (legit), as many of you read from the States, it is likely I will wake up to your reviews. So, could you pretty please just not read it if you don't like my stuff for tomorrow? Pretty please?_

* * *

 _Sorry that was so long, everyone else, but the camel's back was broken._

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with…" Emma groaned.

"I'm not four." She grumbled. "This game is stupid." Charming gave Emma a look, but decided now wasn't the time to tell her off for bad manners. "I don't see why we had to come all the way out here. How comes Marali gets to stay at the battleground with mom? Just because she's the oldest. It's not fair." Emma complained. Charming counted to ten in his head. Emma had only recently turned fourteen and she was really putting her all into being a moody teenager.

"You know perfectly well that Marali staying with your mom was because of a fair coin toss. One of us had to come out here to check the perimeter to make sure George's men weren't encroaching. It's safer for you both right now if there's a one-to-one ratio. George's men fight dirty, if between your mom and I we each only have one of you to focus on it lowers the chance of an accident happening."

"Or…you could let us help?" Emma pushed. Charming just ignored her. Both he and Snow had this conversation with the girls before they left. Neither of them were getting involved in this war. Not if they could help it. "Oh come on dad! We both have magic. It's not like George does…"

"Emma." Charming warned her. "You may have magic, but you know as well as I do that it's…temperamental. Besides, when you do use it, you're so exhausted afterwards all you can do is sleep, and that's on a good day. And before you suggest that I'd let your sister use hers because she's older, don't. She's not using her powers in this war either."

"Not because she's older, because both you and mom think she's stronger than I am." Emma muttered bitterly. Charming couldn't let that slide. He moved his horse in front of Emma's so she had to halt.

"That's not true." He said seriously. "Yes, Marali's magic is…different from yours, but neither of us think she's stronger than you. You both have different skills, different magic. Yours is more linked to your emotion, you know that. It's harder for you to use it at will. When you do use it, it's so strong it knocks you out. You're better off without it anyway, sweetie. All magic…"

"Comes with a price." Emma finished his sentence for him. She and her sister had been raised hearing it. "I know."

"Good." Charming stated. "I know you're fed up, but believe me, your sister's going to be just as bored as you if not more. At least you get the pleasure of my company. She'll be in the tent alone. Trust me, your mom won't have let her out of there."

Maybe not, but I bet she'll have found the back exit mom doesn't think I know about by now. Emma thought to herself, but she didn't say anything. Charming got back beside her. He reached out and squeezed her hand.

"This will all be over soon. We can go back to normal." He promised her. "Now come on. I promised your mother we'd be back within five days. We'll need to get a move on to meet that deadline, and you know what she'll be like if we're late." Emma grimaced. She loved her mom dearly, but she worried something awful. If they were late, she'd insist on being in the tent with Emma for at least one whole day to make sure she really is ok. "So, why don't we have a bit of a race for a bit?" Charming suggested with a grin. Emma smiled in return.

"I like that idea." She said.

"Well alright then. May the best horse win. On your marks, get set…" But before Charming could finish, a bird landed on his shoulder. It pecked gently at his cheek and held out it's leg. Curious, Charming accepted the note.

There's been a change of plan. We're at Aurora and Philip's. Charming recognised his wife's handwriting immediately. He knew there must have been a problem for Snow to leave the battle with Marali, but he also knew the reason Snow didn't provide more details. She didn't want to scare Emma. That just worried Charming even more.

"I'm afraid I'll need to take a rain check on this one, baby. We're not going back to the battleground. Your mama's with your sister at Aurora and Philip's." He explained. He saw Emma begin to panic. "I'm sure it's nothing bad." He lied to protect her. "Stay nice and calm, angel. We'll be there soon and you can see for yourself." Emma nodded, but she didn't feel calm. She turned her horse to follow her dad in the direction of their friends' castle. Both wondering what had gone wrong.

The journey towards Aurora and Philip's castle was a quiet one. Charming tried to keep Emma's mind occupied, but he knew she just kept thinking about what could have happened to her mom or her big sister…or maybe both. He kept trying to reassure her as best he could, but he was also sure his words must have sounded pretty hollow. Emma would know that, despite what he said, he was just as scared as she was.


	5. Reunited

_Thanks you everyone for all the kind birthday wishes. I had a lovely day and then my mum had a lovely day today (as it is when I write this) as her birthday is the day after mine :)._

Snow nearly fainted with relief. She turned to Marali and smiled, kissing her forehead.

"I'll bring them up to you." She said, getting up. She ran to the door and looked back at Marali.

"You sure you'll be ok?..."

"Yes!" Marali laughed. "Go!" Snow smiled at her.

"I'll be right back up with daddy." She said, running off.

She ran all the way down to the entrance.

"Snow?" She heard David call her. She sprinted over to them and pulled Emma into her arms, kissing her head.

"You're both here." She said, relieved.

"Of course." David replied, coming over and kissing Snow's head as Snow still had her arms wrapped tightly around Emma. David looked around him.

"Where's Marali?" He asked her. He must of caught the fear in Snow's eyes. "Emma," He said. "Why don't you go make sure Aurora and Philip know we've both arrived?" He asked his daughter. Emma looked at him suspiciously.

"What's going on?" She asked. Snow took her arms away from her.

"Listen to your father." She told Emma. "Go honey. One of them will make sure you know where to find us." Reluctantly, Emma left to do as she was told.

"What's wrong?" David asked, as soon as Emma was out of earshot. Snow's face completely fell.

"Marali got hurt." She told him. David's eyes widened in horror.

"What?" He croaked. "Is she ok? Where is she Snow?"

"She's alright now. She's been patched up properly. She's upstairs resting, waiting on you. I wanted to talk to you first, explain everything." David raised an eyebrow, telling her to go on. "She was bored in the tent, and I was out fighting and she… she…"

"She found the back exit, didn't she?" David sighed. Snow nodded.

"Yes, she did. Guards surrounded us and she got cut. Not deeply but she lost a lot of blood. I'm glad she made it out of the tent though. By the time she got back there it had been overrun by George's army. We were making our way here when George himself showed up. He told me he'd withdraw the North forces when he had Marali, the rest when he had Emma. He's after them, David! He doesn't care if we live or die, but he wants to kill our children." Snow said, tears rolling down her cheeks. David pulled her into his arms.

"It's alright." He assured her. "We won't let him hurt the girls. They're safe here. You said Marali's going to be ok. It's alright, Snow." David said, calming her. When Snow had calmed down she looked up at David.

"Marali will be waiting on us." Snow said quietly. David nodded and took her hand, allowing Snow to show him the way.

They reached the room and found Marali waiting for them.

"Dad!" Marali beamed. She went to get out of the bed when Snow stopped her.

"If any of those ten toes hit the floor there will be trouble!" Snow warned. Marali huffily got back into bed and folded her arms across her chest. David smiled, coming over to her. He sat on the chair beside her bed and reached out, taking her hand.

"How you feeling, sweetheart?" He asked her. Marali shrugged.

"Better than mom would have you think…"

"Don't listen to her!" Snow cut in, marching up to the bed. "She's still got a temperature, feel for yourself." Snow said. David went to move his hand from her hand to her forehead, but Marali swatted him away.

"Could I maybe get a say in who feels my forehead?" She asked sarcastically.

"No." Snow replied, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Marali rolled her eyes as David reached out and felt her forehead. He frowned.

"Sorry kiddo, she's right."

"I thought you were meant to take my side." Marali whined. David chuckled.

"Only when you're right. And just now your mother is right." Snow smiled smugly. Emma came into the room and came over to Marali, hugging her. Snow motioned for David to follow her just outside of the room. As Snow reached the door she made sure Marali saw her "keep it zipped" gesture. The less panicking Emma became the better. Marali understood. She was the big sister, anyway, it was her job to protect Emma just as much as her parents'.

"He'll know we're here eventually." Snow whispered, as David shut the door behind him. "He'll work out that we came to our closest allies. What then, David? We need a backup plan." David thought for a moment.

"We take them to Regina's." He replied calmly. Snow's eyes widened.

"Have you lost your mind? Regina may be on speaking terms with us, but I'm not sure she'll be up for us playing happy families in her castle!" Snow whispered frantically. David placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What other choice do we have?" He asked her. David took her silence as a sign of her admitting he was right. "It's possible George won't know that we're here- or that he'll be defeated before he can get to us. But staying with Regina is a safer backup than anything else. George won't want to go near her…"

"And neither will the girls." Snow added. David smiled slightly.

"It's a big castle, they can keep their distance from Nana Gina." Snow raised an eyebrow.

"Please, should we go to her castle don't call her that. I'd rather not have her rip your heart out and stomp on it…" David chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I won't, I promise. But for now we can enjoy our time in the castle with Aurora and Philip. The girls deserve some fun." Snow leaned into David's embrace, he reached down and kissed her head. "As for right now, my love, you need rest. I believe there are two little girls in there who do too. And whether they admit it or not, they're scared." Snow nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself before entering the room.

* * *

"So, are you going to tell me what's actually going on?" Emma asked as soon as her parents left the room. Marali pretended to not know what Emma meant, resulting in Emma rolling her eyes. "I'm fourteen, not four. I know when everyone starts whispering that I'm being kept in the dark about something." Marali grinned, ruffling her sister's hair (purely to annoy her).

"Aww, but you'll always be little Emzy to me." She teased her. Emma slapped her hand away.

"You're only fifteen, you know. It's not like you're that much older." Emma grumbled.

"Nearly sixteen though." Marali reminded her. "Either way, there's nothing to tell you, so there." Just then, the door opened. Marali snapped her eyes over to her parents. "What were you talking about?" Marali asked, as soon as they were inside. Snow smiled at her, making her way over to the bed. She settled herself between the girls. She gently flicked Marali's nose.

"Never you mind what we were discussing. Right now all you two need to worry about is sleeping." Snow gently got both girls lying down. "You've both had long days." David settled himself on a chair beside the bed. He could have gone through to his and Snow's room, but he didn't want to leave any of his girls, not with George still out there. "That's it, settle down." Snow whispered, noticing both girls were drifting off. Emma seemed to be resisting sleep. She was looking at both of her parents, and they both knew how scared she was. Snow gently moved some hair away from her forehead. "Sleep." She whispered. "You're safe here, Em. We all are." She promised her youngest. Emma was clearly still not exactly settled, but did slowly begin to drift off fully.

Snow smiled over to David when they were both asleep. "Remember when they were like this every night?" She whispered, smiling as Marali curled into her side. David chuckled beside her.

"What was our record for number of nights without a visitor?" He joked. Snow laughed, remembering the days.

"I believe we got to five once, before they just… stopped." Snow sighed. "First Marali stopped coming in, but we still got regular visits from Emma. Then she decided if she needed anyone, she'd go in with her big sister. I'm glad they get on so well, for most of the time anyway. But that was still a hard adjustment. Our bed felt empty without them, didn't it?" David nodding, looking over.

"Yeah… it was easier sleeping with them there. We didn't need to worry…" David sighed. "Well, they're back now. At least until we defeat George." Snow settled down herself between the girls.

"Night, Charming."

"Good night, Snow."

Snow awoke about halfway through the night with someone kicking her. She turned her head to the side she heard whimpering from.

"Marali?" She whispered. Marali didn't respond, just continued lightly thrashing and whimpering. Snow reached out and stroked Marali's cheek until she woke. Marali started. "It's ok." Marali whispered. "It's just me. Nightmare?" Marali nodded weakly. Snow gently gathered her into her arms.

"Talk to mama." Marali shook her head. "Come on honey, I can't help if you don't tell me…" Snow waited for a moment, she knew Marali would respond eventually.

"George." Marali mumbled. "He…he took us. And he killed you and daddy." Marali sniffled. "He made us watch."

"Oh honey." Snow said softly, kissing Marali's head. "I promise you that will never happen." Snow decided it was best not to tell her that George wouldn't want to kill her and David in front of the girls, it would be the other way around. "George won't hurt anybody in this family ever again. I'll keep my girls safe. Ok?" Marali nodded into Snow's chest. Snow could tell she was drifting off. She gently got her lying down again.

"Sleep princess." Marali nodded, drifting off once more.

* * *

The next morning, Marali's nightmare was forgotten. Snow and David kept their promise to themselves- their family was going to have fun while they were staying at Aurora and Philip's castle. For one beautiful week, this whole terrible war was forgotten. But then, it happened.

"Your majesties!" A man yelled. The family were in the garden having a picnic. They all turned and saw a guard running towards them. Snow's heart sank, their free time was up.


	6. A twisted man

"What's wrong?" Charming asked as the guard approached them.

"They're here." He panted. "George and his men. They've surrounded the castle. Shit. Snow thought, and she could tell Charming was thinking much the same.

"What?" Emma squeaked. Snow and Charming could begin to see her chest rise and fall rapidly. This would not be a good time for Emma to lose her cool and have her magic get the better of her. Charming pulled Emma into his arms.

"Breath. Nice deep breaths. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you." He promised her. It was clear Emma was still petrified, they all were, but she at least managed to get herself under control enough that she wouldn't have a magical outburst. "My brave girl." Charming praised her.

"Is there any escape route at all?" Snow asked, grabbing hold of Marali's arm as Charming did the same to Emma. The guard shook his head. "No. Everywhere is surrounded. Your last hope is to hide. We will do our best to push them back so you can then escape." David shook his head.

"No, too many of you will die or become injured, I won't allow it. Nor will I allow him to hurt my family. If George wants me then it's me he'll get."

"David?" Snow asked, astounded at his decision.

"Let me finish." David said gently. "But he'll not take me without a fight." David came over to Snow and kissed her head. "Just you focus on keeping the girls safe. Don't worry about me. If I say run then you take them and run, agreed?" Snow looked deep into his eyes. She didn't want to let him fight George, not when he fought so dirty. She didn't want to grab their children and run, but if she had to she would. Slowly, Snow nodded.

"Agreed." She whispered.

"What? No!" Marali protested. "We can't just let George kill you, I won't let him, I'll fight him if I have to-"

"You'll do no such thing." David cut in sternly. He moved from Snow to his daughters. "The pair of you are to do exactly what your mother tells you. Stay way back from George and any of his men, understood?" Reluctantly, Emma nodded. Marali was being more defiant. "Marali Eva, is that understood?" He said more firmly, looking her right in the eye.

"Fine!" Marali snapped. "Go ahead and let him kill you then!" Snow came over and pulled Marali into a large hug, running her hand through her hair.

"Honey, your father isn't going to die." Snow whispered. "Not if I can help it. But George wants you to get involved, and we won't let him. So please, just stay behind me?" "It's not like I have a choice." She grumbled. Just then, another guard appeared.

"Your majesties, he's in the courtyard." Snow and David nodded. This is where the fight really began.

The family made their way out to the courtyard. It was immediately obvious that George's men had the upper hand. His men surrounded the courtyard in a giant circle. Some had grouped together Aurora, Philip and their men that were present.

"Ah, well look who it is!" George sneered, spotting the family. Snow's grip tightened on Marali's arm. "The Charmings! What a lovely looking family, how nice to see you all together for the last time." The family walked into the courtyard where Charming handed Emma's arm over to Snow's free hand and kissed all of their heads.

"Remember," He said under his breath to the girls as Snow placed them behind her. "Do exactly as your mother says. I love you, all of you." Snow stared on in fear as David walked towards George.

"Alright George." He said calmly. "Here I am. I will give you a fair fight with me, but leave my family and friends out of this. It's between you and me." George simply laughed.

"Oh David, I don't want you. Well, not yet anyway." He informed David.

"Well you're not getting anyone else." David said through gritted teeth. Snow stepped back slightly with the girls.

"Oh, but I am." George said cockily. "I want you to experience the pain I did. To do that, I will be taking your children." Some of his guards started to approach Snow and the girls. David immediately jumped back and shielded them from the other side- trapping them between their parents.

"Mom?" Emma whimpered, beginning to panic.

"Stay calm girls. Nobody is taking either of you…"

"Yes they are girls. You are coming with us." George butted in. "Don't worry, Snow and David, I won't kill them straight away. Although they'll probably wish that I would."

"You aren't taking my children George!" David yelled.

"Begin!" George ordered his men. George's soldiers who weren't busy penning in Aurora, Philip and their men came at the family. All four pulled out their weapons (Emma and Marali having been raised to never leave without one). Today they all had swords.

"Girls, stay between us, only fight if necessary!" Snow shouted behind to them before George's men closed in on them. They were severely outnumbered. Snow and David did their best to fully shield the girls, but it was no use, they had to fight. Emma and Marali were both good fighters, having been taught from a young age, but George's men fought dirty. Eventually the guards decided upon a tactic. Instead of fighting both girls, together they went after the strongest- Marali. They managed to knock her to the ground and the largest man stomped on her knee and then lower leg. As well as that the fall had reopened her wound, and it was worse. Marali cried out in agony. Both parents whipped their heads round to the sound.

"Marali!" They both cried out. They defeated their remaining guards and ran to her. That moment was all the rest of the guards needed. They banded together and grabbed Emma, gagging her. They dragged her over to George as she flailed about trying to free herself. Snow looked up.

"Emma!" She called out. David looked up as well and was immediately on his feet to rescue her, but George held a knife to her throat. Snow had her arms around Marali, her heart froze. Emma stopped fighting George. David also froze where he stood.

"Well now that's better." George called out. The rest of the courtyard was silent. Marali whimpered slightly, not with it at all. Snow looked down to see the blood leaking out her stomach, her leg obviously broken in more than one place. Snow took off a layer again and held it to Marali's stomach.

"Hold on baby." Snow whispered to her.

"Ok George." David said calmly. "You've had your fun, made your point. Please, end this now. Marali needs medical attention urgently. Please, let Emma go, I'll leave with you without a fight.

"Oh I don't think so." George said with a sick grin. With his free hand he grabbed Emma's chin. "Little beauty, isn't she? I think I'll be holding onto this one. I'm merciful, you may heal the other one. I'll return for her. I'll even hold on to this one until then so they can die together. But should any of my men see any of yours on the ride home, my hand might just slip. And I wouldn't want to get rid of this little pretty so quickly…"

"George let my daughter go!" Snow yelled from beside Marali. "You've done enough damage here today."

"No, I don't think I will, Snow White." George said. George stepped back to his horse with Emma. A guard came over and held her on the horse until George got on behind her. Emma's hands were tied up and George held the knife at her throat again. "Remember, if any of my guards gets any hint that someone is following us, she dies. I'll see you soon!" Emma looked helplessly at her parents as George and his army rode away. When Aurora and Philip were released they ran over to Snow, David and Marali while their men worked to re-secure the castle.

"Snow… I'm so sorry." Aurora said, pale faced.

"It's not your fault." Snow whispered. "We need to get Marali medical attention urgently.

"Of course." Philip said. He quickly fetched the physician and two guards with a stretcher. Marali was gently placed on the stretcher, she looked up at her mom, scared. She then looked to Charming. Snow knew he was going straight after Emma. He had lived in George's castle for a while, he'd know how to get there without being spotted. Neither of them wanted Emma with him or his men for very long.

"Bring her home." Snow told him. "If anyone has hurt her, you show no mercy. The same goes if you find the people who hurt Marali." She told him with a fire in her eyes only an enraged mother could possess. David nodded. He looked over to Marali and stroked her cheek.

"Keep her safe." He said to Snow before kissing her. He then quickly found his horse in the stables and left to save Emma.


	7. Saving both

Charming had never ridden so hard in his life. All he could think about were his children, and the damage George had done. He wasn't even able to be with Marali just now to make sure she was healing because George had taken his other baby girl. Every time Charming thought about what than monster might be putting Emma through he felt sick, and he pushed his horse even harder to find her. The problem was, much like Snow and Charming, George had more than one palace. Charming had no way of knowing which one he was taking Emma to. He hadn't been able to trace them, they'd planned their escape route well, so Charming was travelling blind. He also had to ensure that he wasn't spotted by any of them as he travelled. Otherwise they might hurt Emma. If they hadn't already.

The first palace Charming hunted down was empty. He had wanted to burn the place down in a fit of rage. It would take him at least another two days' travel to get to the next one. Two days more in which he was separated from Snow and Marali. Two days more in which anything could be happening to Emma. He had managed to control his anger though. He had to. He had to keep his focus on getting his family back together. That meant he had to find Emma.

By cutting the time he slept and ate to the bare minimum he could endure, Charming reached the next palace in just over a day's travel. As luck would have it, Charming could tell by the swarm of guards surrounding the grounds that he had found the right palace this time. His heart soared. This was the palace he'd spent the most amount of time in whilst pretending to be James. He knew this one like the back of his hand, including the secret passageway through a statue in the grounds to the dungeons. He'd used that more than once to help innocent prisoners escape. The only problem was getting past George's men. Charming had to think fast. His little girl depended on him getting her out here and now. He scanned the area, looking for any shot he might have. He spotted it over by the east gate. There stood a loan knight, with no others able to see him properly. Charming reached into the satchel draped over his horse. He always carried some poppy powder as a defence mechanism. He found it worked wonders in a pinch. Grabbing a small handful, Charming his his horse in the bushes and crept around the back of the palace to reach the guard. He climbed the fence as quietly as possible. When he was at the top, directly over the guard, he quickly dropped the powder, knocking him out. The guard fell to the ground with a small thud. Charming dropped by his side. He removed the man's armour and put it on himself. With his helmet covering his face, Charming was now free to get into the dungeons.

He quickly found the statue that would get him there in the shortest amount of time. It was a statue of a wolf, howling at the sky. Charming took the left ear of the wolf in his hand and pulled it forwards, revealing a stone stairway leading down to the dungeons. The first thing that he heard was sniffles. His heart roared with rage again. That was his baby girl crying. He had to stay calm. He found the guard with the keys to the cells and approached him.

"His Majesty wishes to see the princess." Charming said in as gruff a voice as he could muster. The guard looked confused.

"The King comes down here when he wishes to speak to this moany brat. Why does he suddenly want her taken from her cell?"

"I don't ask questions. I just follow orders." Charming replied quickly. The guard peered at him curiously.

"Show me your face." The guard demanded. Charming sighed. He went to take his helmet off, but instead, punched the guard in the nose, knocking him out cold. Emma gasped, staring at this strange knight. Why was he helping her? Then she saw him take off his helmet. Her eyes lit up.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to violence in front of my daughter." Charming sighed.

"Dad!" Emma called out, running to the bars of her cell. Charming took the keys from the unconscious guard and quickly unlocked Emma's door. She ran into his arms, crying.

"Hey, it's ok." Charming told her. He bent down, holding her tightly.

"You came for me." Emma sniffed. Charming kissed the side of her head.

"Well of course I did. I wasn't going to let you stay here. We always find each other in our family, remember?" Emma nodded against her dad's shoulder. "Good. Come on now, we need to leave quickly. It won't be long before an alarm is sounded." Charming pulled Emma back. It was only then that he saw in the dim light provided that there was a clear, large, purple bruise covering her right eye. It was swelling over slightly as well. He held her face gently.

"Who did this to you?" Charming growled. Emma pulled back.

"We don't have time, like you said." Emma responded, clearly not wanting to talk about it. "It doesn't matter anyway. We're leaving."

"Someone laid their hands on you. It matters." Charming told her. He could tell Emma was hiding something. She was clearly anxious about talking about why she had this black eye and who had caused it. "We'll talk about it on the ride home." Charming took Emma's hand tightly in his own. "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

Snow took a deep breath. For just now she had to put her fears for David and Emma to one side and focus completely on Marali. The physician had finished examining her.

"I'm going to have to give her some powerful sleeping herbs to knock her out." He explained. "Then I'll have to reset the knee and then the tibia. As well as sorting out her stomach again." Snow could see Marali was beginning to panic.

"It's ok." She told her. "Mama's right here and she won't leave. You're going to be just fine."

"I'm scared." She admitted, her eyes welling up. Snow reached down and stroked through her hair.

"It's ok." She whispered, as the guards began to walk with Marali to the physician's room and Snow walked with them. "I'm right here. The physician is going to make you better, and you won't feel a thing. You'll be sound asleep, ok?" Snow said soothingly. The physician came back over with the herbs.

"Ready?" He asked. Snow looked at Marali and smiled encouragingly before nodding.

"Ready." Snow replied on behalf of her daughter. The physician nodded and gave Marali the herbs, and she couldn't help but drift away…

* * *

Marali could feel herself coming too. Slowly she opened her eyes. When they cleared a little she could see her leg was in a cast and her stomach was covered in fresh bandages. She couldn't see, but could definitely feel the stitches. She groaned slightly. It was only then that Marali noticed her mother in the room as she snapped her head up. Snow smiled in relief.

"There's my sleepy girl." Snow whispered, moving closer and crouching beside the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Snow asked, stroking her head.

"Hazy." Marali croaked. "And sore. How long have I been out?" She asked.

"About a day and a half since they put you to sleep. They thought this would be round about when you'd wake." Snow replied. The events leading up to her operation started to come back to Marali.

"Dad…Emma…" She said, worried. Snow shook her head.

"Not back yet baby. It'll take your dad extra time to get to George's castle as he'll have to take a longer route to avoid George's men. Then they have to come back."

"They'll be ok though, right?" Marali asked, clearly worried. Snow stroked her cheek.

"I'm sure we'll see them both right as rain very soon. George won't hurt your sister, he knows I'm already going to have his head for having his men hurt you. He doesn't want me any madder. So, don't you be worrying about them. Right now you need to worry about yourself." Of course Snow was petrified that she was wrong, but she was deadly serious about the retribution she would bring to George if he had harmed so much as one hair on Emma's head. Snow gently reached behind Marali's head with one hand and picked up a glass of water with the other. She helped Marali take small sips before setting her back down. "I know you've just woken up, but you need to go back to sleep baby. You need your rest to heal. It's going to be a long couple of weeks for you. The physician is going to get you moving on that leg soon so enjoy the rest." Marali smiled as she looked at her mother, already drifting back to sleep…

And it really would be long and hard. After five days the physician had Marali moving her leg in the bed, and that was hard work. Snow had made sure to support her as best she could. Marali had drifted off to sleep after working so hard when Snow saw it. Her husband's horse. The long blonde waves… Without another word she dashed from the room and out to the gate.


	8. Relying on the enemy

**Trigger warning** of discussions of potential abuse in this chapter.

She hadn't even seen Emma properly before Snow practically pulled her off of the horse and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Snow moved one of her arms up to the back of Emma's head.

"I was so worried." Snow whispered. "I've never been so scared. I'm so sorry Emma, we should have never let you leave with him, we should have…"

"I'm fine mom, really." Emma mumbled into Snow's shoulder. "It's not like he gave you a choice." Emma tried to gently push her mother off of her, but Snow responded by briefly moving her arms to take Emma's arms and wrap them around her middle. "Not a chance. You have just returned from being kidnapped. I am nowhere near done hugging you yet…"

"Actually Snow." David interrupted her. "You might want to have a look at her face." He said, in an angry tone that worried Snow.

"Dad I am fine." Emma snapped as Snow pulled back and took her face in her hands. Snow grimaced at the large black eye that also went slightly down her cheek.

"Emma, did one of George's men hit you, or did George hit you?" Snow asked. Emma shrugged, looking down.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now, aren't I?"

"So I see you're giving your mother about as much information as I got the whole ride home. I tried to get who hit her out of her Snow, I really did. But she's being- well- Emma." Snow frowned and gently made Emma look at her.

"There's something you're not telling me. And I'm not talking about who hit you, I mean why. There's something you're hiding." Emma pulled herself away.

"Just drop it, it doesn't matter. How's Marali?" Emma said, changing the subject. Snow sighed.

"She's getting there. The physician has fixed her up nicely and is coming back daily to both check on her wounds and get her moving her leg. She's sleeping just now, but she'll want to see you both when she wakes up…" That was all the excuse Emma needed to shoot off up to Marali's room. Snow looked over to Charming.

"I'm worried too." He sighed. "She told me nothing. Claims she has no other injuries… I tried to ask her if George said anything on the ride there, but she refused to talk about it." David ran a hand through his hair. "I guess you might have more luck with her later on… Is Marali really ok?" Snow sighed.

"I wouldn't go as far as ok, but she's mending. They really did a number on her. It will take a while before her leg is fully healed. Come on, she'll want to see you." Snow and David walked hand in hand up to Marali's room to find her awake and Emma leaning over the bed, hugging her. Marali's eyes lit up when she saw David.

"Dad!" She cried, relieved. Emma sat down on a chair beside the bed to allow her dad to say hello. He walked over and kissed Marali's head and she burst into tears.

"What's wrong baby?" David asked, concerned. "Are you in pain? Need me to call the doctor?" Marali shook her head.

"I was just so scared you weren't coming home." She wailed. David gently wrapped her in his arms.

"Its ok baby, it's ok. Everyone's home now. And nobody is leaving again unless we all leave together. You're safe, and we're going to get you better." Marali nodded into his shoulder. "Why don't you go to sleep?" David suggested. Marali shook her head.

"No, not when everyone's just back. I've been sleeping for ages anyway." Marali peeked out from her father's shoulder over to her sister. "I see someone's used you as a punching bag, lil sis…" She commented. Emma shrugged.

"I got off lightly compared to you."

"Not half. Did you try and jump off the horse or something?" Emma shook her head.

"Oh, did big bad Emma go badass on some guards? Come on, spill!" Emma shrugged.

"There's nothing to share. How are your injuries?" Snow and Charming shared a look at the change in subject.

"They haven't killed me…yet-"

"That's not even remotely funny." Snow chided. Marali looked down sheepishly.

"Sorry." She replied. Snow reached over and kissed her forehead.

"It's alright. I just don't like to even joke about either of you…" Snow shuddered. She then looked over to the still silent Emma.

"Why don't you and I go to your room across the hall and have a look at that eye of yours?" Emma froze up.

"Why don't you just look at it here?" She challenged. Snow raised her eyebrow.

"You know why, Emma." Snow said gently. She walked over and took Emma's hand. "Come on." Emma sighed and reluctantly got up, allowing Snow to lead her out. Charming watched them leave before looking down to Marali.

"Don't worry," He assured her. "She'll be back real soon…"

"We're not staying here, are we?" Marali suddenly questioned. David looked at her, confused. "As soon as I'm well enough to travel, we're heading to her castle, aren't we?" David thought for a moment.

"She isn't how you remember…"

"Knowing her she'll be worse." Marali grumbled.

"Marali." David sighed. "Aurora and Philip don't have the guard power to protect us here. It's not fair on them, they're losing a lot of soldiers. Regina can keep all of us safe, George doesn't want to cross her."

"But what if she tries to hurt mom again?" Marali said quietly, looking down at her bed. David gently took her chin and made her look up.

"She won't, I promise you. That feud is over. When we go to Regina's castle she will help keep you and your sister safe while we take down George and his men, ok?" Marali nodded sleepily. David heard the door across the hall creak open. He gently kissed Marali's forehead.

"Your mom will be here in a moment. I just need to have a quick word, ok? We'll both be right outside." David assured her, getting off the bed and going out to the hall. He shut Marali's door just as Snow shut Emma's. When Snow turned around she was paler than usual, and had tears in her eyes. It didn't take much for David to put things together.

"Did they…did anyone…" Snow shook her head, stopping him from saying it.

"Well, no." Snow croaked. "But that explains the black eye." Snow saw Charming's hand ball into a fist.

"So someone tried?" Snow nodded. She put her hand over David's fist.

"Stay calm." She warned him. "I'm mad too. More than mad. But she's already shaken over this." Snow took his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll stay right with you."

"Now that she's admitted what happened. If you get upset or angry in front of her those walls of hers will just go higher than ever. She needs you to go in there and make her feel safe. I think she'll feel safer with you tonight, but you know where I am if she asks for me. Bring her straight through if she does." David nodded, kissing Snow's head.

"Don't worry, I will." Snow then left to look after Marali, while David entered Emma's room to watch over her.

Snow gently got on the bed beside Marali, who was beginning to dose off. Snow kissed her forehead.

"Sleep." She whispered. "Mama's here. It's alright. Go to sleep." Within minutes, Marali was asleep. Snow settled down beside her, wrapping her arm snugly around her. She would keep her daughters safe from George. He and his men had hurt them for the last time. Marali gave a small whimper in her sleep. Snow hummed softly, stroking through her hair, settling her. Slowly, Snow too fell asleep.

The door creaking open immediately woke Snow up. She bolted upright, covering Marali. She heard soft whimpering, confusing her.

"Snow," she heard her husband whisper. "It's just us."

"What's going on?" Snow mumbled sleepily.

"She keeps having nightmares." David told her, carrying Emma closer. "I thought you might be able to calm her down." Snow moved Marali over a little bit before shifting over herself and holding her arms out to support the still sleeping Emma. David gently placed her down and Snow kept her sitting up, supporting her shoulders.

"Marali's the forehead." Snow murmured. "Emma is the cheek." She then gently began to stroke Emma's cheek, quietening her. She then gently lay her down. She put an arm around each daughter, just watching them sleep. Emma was settled now, but Marali looked slightly pained. Snow stroked her forehead, but she couldn't heal her leg and stop the pain. She couldn't express how angry she was at George.

"What are you planning?" David asked her. Snow looked up at him, confused. "I know that look, you're planning something Snow."

"I'm planning taking George's head with my sword." She told him. "When he messed with us, he was nothing more than a nuisance. But now he's messed with our babies. Nobody hurts them, David, nobody. I'm going to make him pay." Snow snarled. David nodded in agreement. Snow looked to Emma sadly. "What did George have done to our baby, Charming?" Snow asked him, although she knew he didn't know the answer. "I can't stop thinking about her, alone in wherever he kept her with whatever animals guarding her. You don't think she had an outburst, do you? She must have been so frightened" Charming shook his head.

"She was conscious when I arrived and that couldn't have been long after her." He pointed out. Snow felt a little more at ease, but not much.

"George and his men will pay for what they have done to our daughters." Charming said, reaching out and taking Snow's hand. "But we can't just go in there without a plan. Especially not with Marali as sick as she is. We need to be careful with this. I don't want to have to leave the girls at all, and if we leave for George they're sure to follow us. Also, we're not safe here, and we're putting our friends in danger. As soon as Marali is well enough to travel, you know we have to go to Regina's, Snow." David whispered. Snow sighed.

"I'll send her a message in the morning." She whispered back. "That might make her a bit more hospitable. I know we're on speaking terms again, but I don't think she'll like this. Being under the same roof as not just me, but our whole family as well. David reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"She'll understand. Despite it all she loves you, Snow. No matter how begrudgingly she'll host us. At least until we can sort out George. She might even help just to get us to leave quicker." He said with a cheeky grin. Snow gave a soft laugh, settling back with the girls. Their plan was set.


	9. Regina's castle

It took almost a month for Aurora and Philip's physician to pass Marali for the long horseback journey to Regina's castle. She would be travelling with Snow, and Emma with David. That way if they had to split up each daughter was with a parent. Marali and Emma weren't told all of the details to try and keep them calm, but Snow suspected they knew why it was being done this way, and why such a big deal was made of saying goodbye to the others, despite travelling side by side. Snow kissed Emma's forehead as David wrapped Marali in a comforting hug.

"Listen to your mother." He said softly. "No matter what she may tell you to do, do it." Marali rolled her eyes.

"You're going to be right next to us the whole time! Nothing is going to happen, George wouldn't expect you to travel to Regina's. As far as everyone knows she still hates mom." David smiled, brushing his hand against her cheek. If only he could promise her that would definitely be true.

"Just promise me you'll do it?" He asked. Marali simply rolled her eyes in reply. "Marali." He said more sternly. "Promise me, please baby." Marali let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine! I promise that should something go wrong- which it won't but whatever- I will do whatever mom asks me to do. Happy?" David chuckled as he stroked her cheek again.

"Yes." He answered her. He turned round to Snow and Emma, the latter looking remarkably embarrassed by the particularly squishy hug the former was giving her. "Ready?" He asked. Snow shook her head, continuing to hold Emma. She hated this. Hated thinking there was even the slightest chance something could go wrong and she could end up separated from her and Charming. Or that Emma might end up taken from them again. If her baby girl was kidnapped again and Snow couldn't protect her she would never be able to forgive herself. "Snow." Charming prompted her. They had a schedule to stick to. Reluctantly, Snow released Emma.

"I suppose." She sighed. Emma shot her dad a grateful smile. "Just one last goodbye." Snow walked over to David. She grabbed a handful of his shirt on either side and pulled him in for a kiss- much to both their daughters' disgust. Not that either parent noticed, they were both lost in the moment. Eventually, however, Snow did pull back. "Be careful." She pleaded. David reached out and ran a hand through her raven hair.

"I will be. I ask the same of you." He asked in return. Snow smiled.

"Of course. Oh, but one last thing. David, you know how much I love you. But if our daughter manages to get kidnapped again should we get split up, I may have to throttle you." She murmured seriously in his ear.

"Never again." He replied, looking into her eyes. "But I could say the same should Marali end up wounded." He said, raising an eyebrow. Snow raised her eyebrow.

"Point taken. Neither of us are going to let them get hurt again. Ok," Snow said, turned to face the girls. "Hop on kids." She told them. Both did as they were told and they were soon on their way.

The journey went as expected, with not even a sighting of George's men.

"See," Marali said, as her father helped her off the horse. "I told you we'd be fine and that there was no need for mushy goodbyes!" David just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, you were right, well done. Now please behave yourself. You know this is going to be awkward enough." Marali sighed.

"Alright, fine. Just try and kill George as soon as possible, would you?" David chuckled, wrapping an arm around her.

"I will honey." He said, leading her over to her mother and sister, who were standing by the door. Snow and David discretely made sure the girls were behind them, still having a gap between them and Regina, before Snow knocked. Within seconds the door opened by itself, with Regina standing behind it.

"Good day." She greeted coolly. Snow smiled at her, David nodded and the girls just stared. They'd never been this close to Regina before.

"It's so nice to see you, Regina." Snow said warmly. "It's been too long." Regina gave the faintest hint of a smile as she stepped to the side.

"Please, come inside." Each parent wrapped an arm around a daughter's shoulders and led them into the castle. The girls briefly took in their surroundings, as they'd been taught to do. It was colder and darker than either their own castle, or Aurora and Philip's. There was a sad vibe about the place. They both worked hard to conceal their dislike of the place. Regina motioned to the stairs.

"Come, I'll show you to your rooms before dinner."

She led the family upstairs. It was a similar setup to the guest rooms in Aurora's castle. Snow and David's room was on the left side, with both Marali's and Emma's rooms just opposite on the right. They put their few belongings inside before coming back down for dinner. It was a quiet affair, rather tense and awkward. The girls ate as quickly as possible, wanting to be excused. Fortunately, their parents understood and let them go to explore the grounds. The girls parted, going their separate ways outside. They were told as long as they stayed within the grounds they were safe. They had plans to make with Regina.


	10. First love and new magic

_Snow, David and Regina_

"So," Regina asked, as the dishes were taken away. "Do you have a plan to kill George?" She asked in her usual cool tone.

"Our men are working on finding the castle's weak spot." David explained. "When they do, we attack." Regina just laughed. "Not approve of our plan?" David grunted.

"No, I do not." Regina replied. "If you wish to kill George, you can't do it on his own turf. You have to smoke him out. Get him alone."

"And then, what do suggest?" Snow asked. "George is a dirty fighter. It'll be hard to lure him out with a whole army waiting for him." She pointed out.

"If you know his tactics, use them against him. He doesn't know you're working with me. Lure him out under the pretence of a one on one battle with your husband. I'm sure he'll have back up for foul play, but he won't know I'm there. I will finish him with my magic if needed. If not, Charming, you are free to kill him yourself." Regina suggested. Snow and David had one of their eye conversations before Snow nodded to Regina.

"That sounds like a good plan. When do you suggest we carry it out?"

"In a week's time. Start planting seeds now. Have word of rumours reach George by tomorrow. Make him think David is injured and it will be an easy fight if he knows the injury." She caught the look of surprise on their faces. "This is not my first time planning an attack." She grumbled.

"No, of course not. We will go speak with our men, thank you, Regina. For everything." Snow said, getting up with her husband. Regina nodded, getting up herself.

"I will be outside warming up if you need me. It's been a while since I performed any dark magic. I'll need some practise." She told them, exiting the castle.

 _Emma_

Emma found herself watching some new guards training. They'd arranged before leaving to have some new men sign up from the surrounding area for the battle ahead.

"Boo." A voice whispered in her ear. Emma nearly jumped four feet in the air. She span round, hearing a mischievous laugh.

"That's not funny!" She shouted, going bright red. The young man looked at her, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Isn't it? That's what you get for being on the queen's land watching the knights!" Emma raised an eyebrow, this guy obviously didn't know who she was.

"Why shouldn't I be here?" She asked, claiming ignorance.

"Well duh, peasants aren't allowed on her ground!" He replied.

"Well I should be ok then. Being Princess Emma of the Enchanted Forest, shouldn't I?" The colour drained from his face. Emma allowed herself a smug smile. "Scaring me so funny now that you know who my parents are?" She asked. He shook his head.

"I'm so sorry your highness, I had no idea! I'm Marcus, I'm one of the newest knights. I just turned sixteen, so I signed up today. Please, don't tell your parents…" He begged. Emma let out a laugh herself.

"Relax, I'm not ratting you out. So, want to be a knight, huh?" Emma asked him. Marcus grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, my dad died as a knight when I was pretty young. I always knew it would be the honourable thing to pick up where he left off." Marcus explained. "My mom wasn't too happy with it though."

"No, I bet she wasn't." Emma grimaced. "I'm so sorry about your dad." Emma said sincerely. Marcus shrugged.

"It was a long time ago. He died doing what he loved, defending the kingdom." Emma nodded in understanding. It could easily have been her dad they were talking about. "So listen…" Marcus said shyly. "Not that deep talks aren't great for a first meet, but do you fancy meeting up later tonight when I'm finished training? Maybe a lighter conversation?" He joked. Emma nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I'd like that… can it be quite a bit later though? My parents are pretty stressed at it is…"

"I understand." Marcus told her. "Say, half eleven, right here?" Emma grinned.

"Sounds great." She told him. Marcus grinned back.

"Well, I'll see you then princess. I have to go do some sword practise."

"Bye." Emma said, watching him leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she twirled around, clapping her hands.

 _Marali_

Marali rolled her eyes watching her sister.

"Pathetic." She thought as she saw her sister go all googly eyes. She kept on walking once the knight walked away and there was nothing interesting to spy on with her. She saw a sudden flash of light. Instinct made her dart behind a cart. When she felt safe, she peaked her head out. What she saw made her have to hide a gasp. It was Regina, practising magic she'd never been allowed to see. She was throwing balls of fire into the air. She'd never been allowed to do anything like that. Blue had both her and Emma doing all light magic. True, Marali's was stronger and she was allowed to do more advanced spells, but nothing like this. She watched Regina closely.

"I could do that." She mumbled to herself. She wanted to learn it. To protect herself. George's blasted army would not hurt her again. There was no way her parents would allow her to learn it. They'd deem it "too dark" or "too dangerous". No, she'd have to learn this by herself. She held out her hand and concentrated. She let out a small gasp when a little flame did appear. But it quickly went out with her being so startled. She looked back to where Regina was to see if she had noticed, but thankfully she hadn't. Obviously, she couldn't keep practising this now. Regina would notice her eventually. And she wouldn't be able to stay outside for long anyway, her parents would get worried. No, she had to have a time where nobody would be looking for her. Then, it came to her. She knew Emma would be sneaking off at night now. If she pretended to sleep until Emma left, she could sneak off after her. She'd just need to make sure she was either back before her, or after she was asleep. But she had her plan now. And she knew she could do it. She would be safe from George's men.

Later that night, Marali listened carefully until she heard the gentle click as Emma's door shut behind her, followed by Emma's shuffling footsteps as she made her way downstairs. Marali smiled as she pulled back the covers, still dressed in her day clothes. She too crept out of the room and went out into the night. Marali had mastered an invisibility spell, allowing her to slip past the guards. Emma had gained her stealthy genes from her mom. Marali made sure she knew where Emma and the knight were so she was far enough away that they couldn't see her fire balls, but close enough that she could keep an eye on Emma, so she knew when she was heading back upstairs.

By the end of the first night Marali had nearly managed to create a small fire ball in her hand and hold it for a few seconds. It would take practise to keep it going longer, and then be able to throw it. Once Emma had been gone a few minutes, Marali made her way back up to bed too. She was sure her invisibility spell flickered a few times, she was that exhausted from the fire spells. She settled herself down for the night, already eager to practise the next night.


	11. A fight is brewing

_Well, Christmas day is officially over here in the UK and Boxing Day has begun, but I wanted to get this up. I know it's a little short, but seeing as it's Christmas, I'm sure you can all forgive me ;). Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you had/are having a lovely day :)._

"Morning girls!" Snow said brightly, kissing both their heads.

"Morning." They both grumbled back into their breakfasts. Snow frowned, it wasn't like them to be so grumpy in the morning.

"Good sleep?" She asked. They both nodded silently. Snow narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure she believed them. She'd keep an eye on it. She left to make preparations for the day.

"Why are you so grouchy?" Emma grumbled to her sister.

"Didn't sleep well. You?" Marali responded. Emma gave a slight smile.

"I was up a lot of the night." She said.

"You mean with a knight?" Marali mumbled- but not quietly enough. Emma's head snapped in Marali's direction.

"What did you just say?" She questioned. Marali shrugged, staying silent. Emma grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

"Hey!" Marali protested.

"How do you even know?" Emma quizzed her. Marali yanked her arm back, astounded Emma would have the audacity to manhandle her. Didn't she remember the brawls they had as kids? She had always floored her little sister before their parents broke them up?

"You weren't exactly subtle when you arranged to meet up." Marali grumbled. Emma turned a light shade of pink. She turned her face away from Marali so her sister couldn't see her embarrassment. She hadn't been that soppy...had she? She hoped Marcus didn't think she was a total _girl._ A knight like him would never be interested in a sissy little girly girl. No, Emma had to be tough. She _was_ tough. Marali was just winding her up.

"Just keep your mouth shut." She ordered.

"Or what?" Marali barked back. What could Emma really do to her? "If you're going to threaten me, _baby_ sis, you have to back it up." Marali taunted her. Emma could feel her blood beginning to boil, which was never a good thing. Before Emma could respond, however, Snow came back.

"Girls, hurry up. People to see, places to go…" She said, Marali immediately got up.

"I'm not hungry anyway…" She muttered, stomping out. Emma got up a few seconds later, silently following her. Snow was worried, they weren't themselves. She'd have to keep a close eye on them both. Charming came in behind her. He snaked his arms around her waist.

"Something's troubling you." He said knowingly.

"The girls." Snow sighed. "They've had an argument about something."

"So what's new?" Charming chuckled. They both knew Marali and Emma loved each other dearly, but they were forever bickering. As sisters often did.

"It just felt different." Snow told him. "They're hiding something, and by the looks of it, something pretty big." Charming frowned. If the girls were hiding something from them both, sooner or later, it was bound to blow up in everyone's faces.

* * *

For three more days both girls snuck off in the evening to pursue their separate activities. Emma sighed as Marcus wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Still worried your sister will rat us out, huh?" He asked her. Emma nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry Em, if she was going to, she would have by now. Makes no sense leaving it this long. She assured her gently.

"I guess." She agreed. "But still, I don't like her knowing with me having nothing on her." Emma spoke too soon. For just then the couple saw a great flash of light, followed by a triumphant whoop.

"It's George!" Emma squeaked. "He's come back for me I know it. I can't go back with him, I can't!" She panicked. Marcus pulled her over to him.

"Emma, calm down." He whispered. "George can't get within a mile of this castle. Besides, I won't let him hurt you. Ok?" Emma nodded into his chest. Marcus pulled away and took her hand. "Come on, we'll go see what it is." Together they crept closer until they were behind one of the stables and could see what was happening. Emma's mouth fell open in shock. She and Marcus saw her sister practicing the fire balls.

"That little…" Emma hissed. She'd been sneaking out too! And to do dark magic! Sure, her parents wouldn't like what Emma was up to, but what Marali was doing was much worse. Marcus was confused, why was she smiling? Emma saw him, and knew why he was confused.

"Now I have something on her." Emma explained. "Something much bigger."


	12. The truth comes out

The following day, the family- including Regina- was gathered around the table for dinner. Marali saw Emma smiling at her again. She'd been doing it all day.

"Quit it." She snapped to her quietly.

"Or what." Emma whispered calmly. "You'll throw a fire ball at me?" Marali's eyes widened. That little sneak! She'd followed her! Emma smiled smugly. "Looks like we're even." Marali's hands balled into fists. She was furious. Without warning, one hand burst into flames, setting the table on fire. Marali didn't even notice, but Emma screamed in horror, leaping back. Regina instantly put it out, just as Marali noticed what had happened. She looked at her hand in horror. She hadn't meant to do that!

"Where did you learn that?" Regina snapped. Marali looked down.

"Marali," Snow said, concerned. "Regina asked you a question. Marali folded her arms across her chest stubbornly, refusing to answer.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Emma snapped. "She's been copying Regina. She's been practising at night." Marali's eyes locked with Emma's. If nobody else was around she would have floored her. A tense silence filled the room. Eventually, Snow broke it.

"Marali, is this true?" She asked her youngest.

"She only knows anything because she's been sneaking off at night to meet up with some stupid wannabe knight!" Marali retorted. Emma scoffed.

"That's nothing compared to sneaking off and learning dark magic-"

"Don't speak so soon." Snow warned her. Emma looked flabbergasted. She gestured to her sister.

"But she-"

"Did something totally different from you." David butted in. "But both problems are easy to fix. You will both now share a room. Regina with cast a spell over that room to prevent magic being used inside it. There will be guards posted both outside your door and window. You will be responsible for each other. If one sneaks of, the other will also be punished. We clearly cannot trust you both to be sensible so you will stay with your mother and I during the day. Is that understood?"

"But that's not fair!" Both girls yelled back.

"Not fair?" David said, fighting to keep his cool. "Not fair was putting yourselves in danger. Emma, did it ever occur to you that we know nothing about this boy? He could be anyone! He could be a spy for George…"

"That's ridiculous!" Emma said, getting frustrated.

"It is not." David responded calmly. "It is accurate. Lest assured he will not be one of the guards posted outside your room. What's his name?" He asked. Emma remained stubbornly silent.

"Marcus." Marali responded. "He just turned sixteen and joined up."

"You little rat!" Emma yelled.

"An eye for an eye, dimwit!"

"Enough!" David called. Both girls fell silent. David turned his attention to Marali. "And you, Marali. Did you even think about what using dark magic could have done to you? There are reasons your mother and I were careful about what Blue taught you. You risked turning dark. Maybe it is best you don't use your magic…"

"No!" Marali responded. "I need it to protect myself!"

"No you don't. There will be no need for you to protect yourself. And even if there was you are a perfectly skilled fighter…"

"I've had it!" Marali said, storming off. Using the distraction Emma ran to the door on the other side.

"What part of staying with us did you both not understand?" David called out, but was ignored. Both parents got up with a sigh. David followed after Emma, and Snow after Marali.

Snow knew exactly where Marali would be- up on the only balcony in Regina's castle. She knocked at the entrance so as not to startle her.

"Hey." She said gently, coming and standing beside her at the wall. Marali hastily wiped her face and sniffed, trying to pretend like she hadn't been crying.

"Hey." She replied quietly. Snow gently took Marali's face in her hands and wiped away a loose tear before Marali pulled away. Snow took her hand.

"We need to talk about it." She said gently. "This is important, Marali. I need to know why you thought dark magic was the best option." Marali's only reply was a shrug. "We can wait here all night if that's what you want. But neither of us is leaving this balcony until I get some answers." Snow said, slightly more sternly. A few more minutes of silence went by before Marali gave a frustrated sigh and mumbled something under her breath. "Honey, I have to hear it for it to count." Snow prompted. Marali sighed again.

"I was learning Regina's magic because I'm scared George will hurt me again." She said slowly. She looked down, embarrassed. Snow made her look up.

"Honey, I will never let that man, or anyone connected to him, hurt either of my children again. I promise you that. But why are you embarrassed?" Marali shrugged.

"You and dad never get scared." She muttered. Snow made Marali look up.

"Of course I do. Every time something happens to you or your sister I get scared. It's my job as your mother. Do you know what else it is my job to do as your mother? Protect you. And that is why you don't need to worry about George. Now that we know his plans and have Regina on our side, we can beat him easily. So I don't ever want to see you using that magic ever again, understood?" Marali nodded.

"Yes mama." She said quietly. Snow wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Good. Now, let's go find your father and your sister and all make peace before bed."

"Mom?" Marali asked, clearly trying her luck with something. "Now that you know I won't use dark magic again, do I still have to share a room with Emma?" Snow didn't even need to answer, her look was enough for Marali to know she would be sharing a room with her sister for the foreseeable future.

Just then, Charming came charging out onto the balcony.


	13. The outburst

"Snow." He panted. "You need to come quickly. Emma's having an outburst." Snow kicked herself for not foreseeing this after Emma had been punished. Like Marali, she was so angry. Of course she would have one of her outbursts.

"Stay here." She ordered Marali, not wanting her to get hurt if things got out of control. Marali chose not to listen to her mom's warning though. She followed behind them, knowing she could protect them if things got really wild. She had before when Emma's outbursts just started. Her little sister's magic was powerful, intensely so. So powerful she couldn't control it. It only came out during extremes of emotion. If she calmed down quick enough, it faded with less side effects for her. If not, she could be out for days.

Marali followed the sound of Emma's screams. She couldn't help it when she was having an outburst. When she was well enough after the first one, she had told her family they were excruciating. Marali peaked through the gap in the door. Waves of magic were pulsing off her little sister, radiating a few feet, getting bigger each time. Her parents were standing back from the waves, trying to calm her down.

"Emma, sweetie." Snow said soothingly. "I know you're mad at us, but I also know how painful this is for you, so why don't you try and calm down and we'll talk about this…"

"It's too late!" Emma screamed. I can't stop it now." Snow and Charming looked at each other desperately. They wanted to help Emma, of course they did, but they knew if Emma said a full outburst was coming, there was nothing to be done except help her through it and look after her until she recovered.

"Ok baby." Charming said. "We're here. You're going to be ok." Marali was about to step in and create a shield to protect the room, and her parents, when someone breezed past her into the room. Marali's face paled. Regina. She didn't know about Emma's outbursts, Marali suspected.

"What is going on here?" Regina snapped. Emma looked at her, and her outburst immediately intensified.

"Emma, it's ok." Snow told her. "Don't make it worse. It'll be over soon." Snow promised her. She looked to her stepmother. "This is Emma's magic." Snow quickly explained. "It's heavily linked to her emotions. When she had a strong emotion, it comes out. She has no control. I'm sorry, Regina, we will of course pay for any damage caused…"

"No need." Regina said simply. With a flick of her wrist, Emma was in some kind of transparent bubble. Although unable to move, Emma looked around her, clearly frightened.

"Regina, what are you doing?!" Charming asked. Get her out of there!

"I am protecting everyone in this castle, so no, I won't let her out until this…episode has passed. That bubble will absorb the magic. I can teach Marali to perform this spell to keep people safe if she really can't control this." Marali already knew this was one spell she didn't want to learn. She may still be angry at her little sister, but she didn't want to trap her inside some magical prison because she couldn't help herself.

"I don't like this." Snow said, clearly not impressed, but she knew she wouldn't change Regina's mind. Instead, her and Charming walked right up to the edge of the bubble. "We're here, baby." Snow promised her. "Let it all out." Emma closed her eyes. It felt like she was being ripped apart. But she knew her parents were right. There was no holding this one back. The sooner she let go, the sooner it would be over. So Emma stopped trying to hold it back. Although it felt like someone had set off explosives on every inch of her, it only lasted a few seconds. Then it was gone. The magic stopped pulsing through her. Emma slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Regina, let her out." Charming demanded. "It's over. We need to get her upstairs." Regina flicked her wrist again, and the bubble disappeared. Charming and Snow got to their knees beside Emma, assessing the damage. She was definitely out cold, but neither could say how long for. Charming carefully scooped her up in his arms and went to take her up to her room.

"She needs to learn to control that." Regina said calmly. "If George finds out, he'll exploit you all with it." She warned. Charming just nodded before he and Snow left the room. Marali was still behind the door.

"Marali?" Snow asked. "What are you doing down here? I thought you were waiting upstairs."

"I came down in case you needed my help again." Marali explained. She peered at her sister. There was a little blood coming out of her nose. "Will she be ok?" Snow kissed Marali's head.

"This has happened before. We can deal with it." Snow assured her. "You go up to bed. We'll come say goodnight once we have Emma settled. You can go back into your own room." Marali nodded, heading up to her bedroom ahead of her parents. Charming carried Emma into her room. Snow pulled back the covers on her bed before Charming gently got her in and Snow tucked her up. She frowned at the blood on her nose, grabbing her handkerchief and wiping it away. She then felt her forehead.

"She's hot." Snow said. "It's been a while since she's had one that bad." Charming nodded in agreement.

"She's had a lot to deal with since this battle began. Maybe we were too harsh on them both." He relented. He hated seeing Emma in pain like that knowing there was nothing he could do to help. He had just been trying to keep her safe, both of them.

"She'll get through this." Charming said, reassuring Snow. He gently pressed his lips to hers. "I know Regina has a point about trying to get her to control it more, but I'm honestly not sure that she can, Snow. She already tries so hard." Snow nodded in agreement, stroking Emma's cheek. They both knew there was only so much control Emma had over this. They could just remind her that she was safe and loved, then pray the next one wouldn't be so bad.


	14. The aftermath

_Happy new year everyone!_

Snow and Charming made sure one of them was with Emma at all times while she was out. The other parent would try and spend as much time as possible with Marali, when she too wasn't coming in to check on her sister. Regina was still making it clear that she though Emma needed better teaching in controlling these outbursts, but she didn't seem to understand that Snow and Charming had already tried all of that with Blue. She had explained to them that this simply was Emma's magic. It was, in ways, an excellent defence mechanism. Nobody could get particularly close to her when she had an outburst. Not even Marali. The price being the toll it took on her body when it was over, and how painful it was during.

Emma eventually woke up around two days later. She squinted as she opened her eyes. Her head was still pounding. It was clearly late at night. She could hear someone else breathing heavily and felt an arm draped over her waist. She turned her head to the side to see her mom, sleeping peacefully. Emma knew they did all this when she had an outburst, even when she told them they didn't need to. It wasn't like she knew they were there. Emma carefully slipped out of the bed, leaving her mom to sleep on. She padded her way down the empty corridor towards the washroom. That was one advantage of this dreary castle, no night guards. She didn't have to explain to six different people she had to pee in the middle of the night in order to be allowed to go to the washroom.

Emma came out of the washroom and leaned her head against the wall, just enjoying the silence. She would have to talk to her parents tomorrow, so she would soak up these precious few minutes of being alone. A door creaked open.

"Emma?" Emma looked round. Her dad was looking round the door of his bedroom. She smiled at him.

"Hello." Charming felt relief wash over him. It was always tense waiting to see how long Emma would be out for after an outburst. He went over to Emma and pulled her into a hug.

"How are you feeling, baby?" He asked her.

"A little sore still." Emma admitted. "But ok."

"I'm not surprised you feel sore. That was quite a big one, huh?" Emma stayed silent, not wanting to talk about it, or why it had happened. Charming knew that was why she wasn't answering, so didn't push her on it. Not tonight, anyway. "Does your mom know you're up?" Emma shook her head.

"No. She's sleeping. I just woke up." Emma explained. Charming nodded. He suspected Emma leaving would have probably woken her up.

"Come on then, I'll walk you back to your room." He told her. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I can see my room from here. You don't need to do that." She pointed out.

"Even so." Charming said, sticking to it. "Come on." Emma sighed, but allowed her dad to walk her to the door, kiss her forehead, and push it open. Sure enough, inside, Snow was getting out of bed, looking concerned. She relaxed somewhat when she saw Emma and Charming at the door.

"She's just up." Charming told her. "She just went to the washroom." Snow nodded and came over. She crouched down so she and Emma were eye level and took her daughter's hands.

"How are you feeling?" She asked her. Emma gave her the same answer she gave her father. Snow frowned and felt her forehead, ignoring the horrified look Emma gave her.

"You're a little hot, but nothing compared to what you were straight after it happened. We'll see how you are in the morning. Come on, there's still plenty of time for you to sleep." Snow stood up again and walked over, making sure Emma got into bed and pulled the duvet up to her chin. She then walked round the other side and got back into bed with her.

"Wait, aren't you going back with dad?" Emma asked.

"No." Snow said simply. "I'm staying here to make sure there aren't any problems through the night." Emma began to feel her face heat up.

"There's really no need…"

"Even so." Snow said, settling down. "Sleep well, baby. I'm here if you need me." Emma looked pleadingly over at her dad, but he just smiled. He had expected Snow to do that, and wasn't sure why Emma didn't.

"Good night, ladies. I'll see you both in the morning. Sweet dreams."

"Night daddy." Emma murmured. Charming smiled at her. When she was tired, it was so easy to see under that tough, teenage exterior, she was still a little girl. His little girl.


	15. Compromise

_Well, I have officially finished writing the story, so that should mean you'll now get a chapter a day until you've had the lot :). Enjoy!_

The next morning, Snow and Charming insisted Emma stay in bed, no matter how much she protested that she was fine. Yes, Snow and Charming were partially doing it because they knew she wasn't fine, but it was also because they wanted to keep her out of Regina's way. They weren't sure she would be so kind to Emma right now. At about midday, Marali came in with a tray of food for Emma.

"Hey." She greeted shyly. "Mom and dad sent me up to give you this." Marali knew her parents had done it to force Marali and Emma to make up, but she didn't really mind. She hated fighting with her sister.

"Thanks." Emma muttered, embarrassed. Marali came over and put the tray on Emma's lap.

"Listen…I'm sorry I got petty and blabbed about Marcus. That…wasn't nice." Marali said awkwardly. Emma nodded, accepting her apology.

"I'm sorry I said about you copying Regina's magic. I was just being stupid…and jealous because your magic actually works properly." Emma admitted.

"Hey," Marali said gently. She sat down on the side of Emma's bed "you don't need to be sorry. At the end of the day, I shouldn't be learning dark magic. It's dangerous. You've got nothing to be jealous of Em. All magic comes with a price. You should know that better than anybody right now. I know mine is probably more fun than yours, but I don't like using it when I don't have to. Something normally goes wrong." Marali admitted. She smiled at her little sister. "Marcus was asking after you." She said. This got Emma's attention.

"Oh?" She asked, trying to not act stupid in front of her sister. Marali nodded.

"But if you don't eat that I'll be for it. So start eating and I'll start talking." Marali promised. Emma silently picked up the sandwich and took a bite, looking at her big sister hopefully. "He wanted to know why you've not been around lately. He thought you were avoiding him. I didn't tell him about the outburst. I just said our dad found out and he's determined to make us nuns." Marali told her. "He likes you…" Emma's face began to heat up. "Oh! And you like him too!" Emma hid her face behind the duvet, causing Marali to laugh.

"Ah, first love. So sweet, so innocent…"

"You're less than two years older than me." Emma pointed out. "It's not like you're some expert. Didn't dad catch you having your first kiss?" Marali grimaced at the memory.

"Yeah, I had a personal chaperone at Balls for a year after that. Thanks for the reminder." Marali said, swiping a carrot stick off of Emma's tray and crunching on it. "Speaking of first kisses…" Marali raised an eyebrow at her little sister. "Oh come on, I'm your big sister! You're meant to tell me all that stuff…"

"As lovely as this make up has been, I think it's time to end it there before you give your dad a heart attack." Marali whipped her head round. She grinned at her parents, a piece of carrot still in her teeth. Her dad looked a little green. Snow smiled at Marali. "Would you mind giving us a minute alone with Emma?" She asked. Marali shrugged, hopping off the bed.

Good luck. She mouthed at Emma before leaving the room. Emma sighed, putting the tray on her bedside table. She hated this bit. Every time she had an outburst, after she woke up, she had to speak with her parents about why.

"Well I think this one shouldn't be too drawn out." Snow said, trying to cut the tension. "Emma, your father and I have dropped our rule on you and Marali having to share a room, on the proviso that you follow the rules set. Can we trust you?" Emma nodded, not looking at either of her parents. "Perhaps we were both too hard on you and your sister. This has been a tough few months for all of us, and you're both still so young. We understand that it's only natural to feel…experimental at this age." Charming scoffed, earning him a look from Snow. "Your sister has vouched for this Marcus boy, but I'll be honest and say neither of us feel completely at ease with you running around with some young knight that's two years older than you…"

"Except he's not two years older than her." Marali interrupted from the door. Charming gave her a stern look. She shouldn't be listening in.

"Marcus lied about his age so he could sign up. What?" Marali asked at all their confused looks. "Can't a big sister do some snooping? He just turned fifteen, not sixteen. I thought he looked a little baby faced. He lied so Emma wouldn't accidentally rat him out. He wants to be a knight to make his dad proud. He's a good kid." Marali said from the door.

"Yes, thank you Marali, although a word of caution to the wise on snooping." Snow warned her. "It can get you into trouble On you go now." Marali nodded, walking away. Her work was done. Snow and Charming turned back to Emma.

"Well…the age is less of an issue now. But we still can't have you walking about together unsupervised. So, if you wish to meet with him, that's fine. But only if Marali's with you.

"What?!" Both girls yelled.

"Marali." Charming sighed. "Go away and we'll talk to you later!"

"I'm not standing around like a spare part while Emma snogs the face off a knight! Gross!"

"There will be no…well, nothing like that." Charming said, loosening his collar. "That's why you'll be there." Emma didn't seem too pleased with this arrangement either, but it was better than the alternative. She couldn't sneak off with him again. Although her parents were letting her have her room back, she was sure they would be making sure neither she nor Marali snuck off through other means.

"Fine." Emma groaned.

"Not fine!" Marali yelled back. Snow and Charming rolled their eyes as they got up. Marali would be accompanying them, like it or not. Little did the family know some chaperoned dates were soon going to be the least of their worries.


	16. Something doesn't feel right

It took another couple of days for Snow and Charming to both agree that it was ok for Emma to be up and about. Then a couple more before they allowed her to meet up with Marcus (which Marali still wasn't happy about having to be present for). Although the main problem the couple were now facing was the prospect of bringing their daughters back into the middle of a warzone. It wasn't safe for Marali and Emma to be left anywhere without them, even with Regina, but nor was it particularly safe for them to be in the battlefield. Marali's injury was a sharp reminder of that. But what other choice did Snow and Charming have? If they ever wanted their daughters to have a chance at a normal life, they had to rid them of the threat of George and his forces. This war was the only way to do that. So Snow and Charming explained the situation to the girls and began preparing to head back again. That was until one of the knights from the war arrived on Regina's doorstep. Grinning from ear to ear, he told the family that George's men had been defeated since they had departed for Aurora and Philip's castle. They hadn't managed to capture George, or many of his men, but the war was over. He had fled and would not be able to return. Snow, Charming and Marali were all filled with joy. It was over. They could go home. But as they celebrated, Charming saw that Emma was watching the knight who had delivered the message leave. He walked over and sat beside her. He knew that look when he saw it.

"You don't trust that he's telling us the truth, do you?" Charming asked her outright. Emma slowly shook her head. Charming frowned. Emma was often excellent at spotting liars, but that didn't mean she was always right. "What makes you think he's lying?" He asked her.

"He seems too happy." Emma explained. Charming was puzzled.

"Well, shouldn't he be happy? Shouldn't we all?" He asked. Emma shook her head.

"Not the knights. Not when they're so fresh from the battlefield. They won't have just seen the enemy defeated, they'll have seen the blood of their friends spilled right before their eyes. I've seen you come home from victories. You never look that happy. No, there's something not right." Charming kissed Emma's forehead.

"You're just worried." He told her. "You're our little worrier. Always have been. This war is over, Emma. You don't have to stay with Regina another night." He pointed out. He saw Emma look away sadly. Then he realised. "…which means you probably won't be able to see Marcus again." He said, putting two and two together. Emma's silence told him he was right. Charming wrapped an arm around Emma, drawing her closer to him. "Baby…we were always going to have to leave eventually. I know it's not fair. I know you two were just getting to know each other." Emma looked at her dad, an eyebrow raised. Charming laughed. "I know I might be a bit…protective of you and your sister when it comes to boys, but that doesn't mean I can't be sympathetic towards how you feel. It's easier when we're leaving said boy behind." He admitted. "But this doesn't have to be goodbye, you know. Not if you don't want it to be. You know where to find him. You can always write to him. We're pretty good at finding each other in this family." He reminded her with a kind smile. Emma half smiled back, the emotional conversation becoming too much. She hoped down off her seat.

"I'll need to gather my things." She said to him. "I'll be back down as soon as I'm done."

"Ok sweetie." Charming told her. He watched her go, with Marali following not long after. He hated knowing she was worried. As did Snow when Charming shared Emma's concerns with her. Neither thought she was right on this occasion, but it didn't make them feel much better.

Regina wasn't exactly subtle about relieved to seeing the family go, about as subtle as they were about being relieved to be able to leave. Charming kept a close eye on Emma during the whole trip. She stayed quiet, watching the world go by. He put it down to her missing Marcus, but deep down he knew there was more to it than that.

The palace was quiet when the family returned, as they had expected it to be. What with none of them being around and most of the knights still returning, there wasn't much for the servants to do. A handful of knights let the family through the gate and had the front door opened for them, but they didn't see anyone else outside of that. Charming squeezed Snow's hand as they stood in the grand entranceway. They were finally home. Snow smiled, reaching up and kissing his cheek.

"Well girls." Snow said happily. "It's over. It's all over. We can finally get on with our lives…"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Came a cold, calculating voice. Snow's heart turned to ice. She whipped her head round, hoping she was wrong, but she wasn't. There stood George, backed up by several of his men. Snow and Charming each took a daughter and placed her behind them, but it was no good. They were surrounded. It was a trap.


	17. House arrest

George smiled smugly as his men drew closer to the family. This was finally his victory. Marali wasn't having this. She could easily transport her whole family out of harm's way, but George saw that coming. One of his men lunged forward, and slapped a band on Marali's wrist. She gasped and tried to blast the knight back with her magic, but nothing came out. She tried to wrench the band off, but it was stuck on good.

"What the Hell is this?!" Marali yelled, still clawing at the band.

"That, my dear, is a magic preventing cuff." George told her. "So your magic is now useless to help you. Any of you." George's gaze fell to Emma, and he could see her hands tremoring ever so slightly. "Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about your magic, princess." He sneered. "Neither has Simeon here." A knight stepped forward towards Emma. His face was an angry reddish pink on one side and it looked like the scars would take months to so much as fade. Emma's eyes widened in horror when she saw him. She sunk against her mom, terrified. Snow wrapped her arms around Emma protectively. She tried to pull Emma behind her, but two of George's men stepped forward and pulled both Snow and Charming back. They struggled, but when more of George's men joined them there was nothing they could do but watch as Simeon stepped threateningly towards a quivering Emma. He grabbed her arm harshly and put a magic preventing cuff on her too.

"That's for my face. Bitch." He hissed.

"Hey!" Charming yelled. "Leave my daughter alone!" Simeon looked up at him coldly. He pointed at his face.

"Your daughter lost her shit when we took her to George's castle. You didn't tell us she was a little freak. She did this before I knocked her lights out." Snow and Charming felt sick. This is who had given Emma a black eye. She got scared, had an outburst, but before it got into full swing, this knight of George's knocked her out by punching her. They knew about each of their daughters' magic. Charming struggled against his bonds again. This man had laid his hands on his little girl.

"Behave yourself Charming, or things will only get worse for those girls of yours." George warned her. The two guards closest to Emma and Marali drew their swords and held them to their throats. Charming stopped. He closed his eyes.

"What do you want?" He growled at George through gritted teeth. George chuckled. "There, that's better." He said, coming forward and stepping into the middle of the family. "As of this moment, you are all under house arrest. You will each be escorted to different rooms in which to stay. You will not be leaving that room. I have some…information I need to gather from you before I kill you all." George said darkly.

"You can't do this to us." Snow told him. "You can't separate us from our daughters. Please, they're just children. Don't do this. Whatever you want to find out, we'll tell you, but leave the girls out of it." Snow pleaded. She would do anything to save their lives. George just looked at her coldly.

"But I need information from them more than either of you, you foolish girl." George told her. "But I do need you both in contact. You and your dear Prince Charming will have no contact with each other. I don't want you conferring in one of your strange, silent, codes. But you will be granted an hour a day with each daughter. One in the morning, and then one in the evening. That is it. Start with Charming. Have him taken to one of the guest rooms." George instructed his knights. They began to take Charming away.

"Snow! Girls!" Charming called behind him. He was terrified, but he had to give them hope. "This will be ok! We are not alone! People will come for us-"

"Nobody is coming for you. Any of you." George sneered after him. "All of your friends have been rounded up and are in my- and your- dungeons. Count yourselves lucky none of you are joining them. But it won't stay like that if you don't cooperate." He warned them. He then motioned for the brutes guarding Snow to begin to take her upstairs. Snow looked desperately at her daughters.

"We'll see you soon." She promised them. "Your dad's right, it's going to be ok. We will keep you safe." Snow was then forced up the stairs. She couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes as she thought about what George and his men could do to her daughters. What they might already be doing to her Charming. Right now, the whole family felt so powerless.

Marali and Emma were then led up to their own bedrooms. Of course, it was Simeon that would be guarding outside Emma's bedroom, just to stress the princess even more. Emma shrunk back between her bed and the wall. Every so often, her eyes would flicker over to Simeon, who was grinning wickedly at her. Emma tried her best not to cry, but she was finding it very difficult. She just wanted her parents.

Meanwhile, Marali was doing her best to bite her tongue and not taunt the guard outside her bedroom. He looked like a giant oaf of a man, and Marali desperately wished she could tell him as much. But she knew it wouldn't be her that would suffer. It would be her family. She'd be damned if one of them got hurt because she wanted to lash out in one of the only ways she could right now. Instead, she would spend her time trying to find an escape route for them all.

Charming was pacing up and down in the room he was being held in. It was torture knowing his family were all mere feet away. Knowing how scared they would be… George had better hope Charming didn't get his hands on him, otherwise he would strangle him. If he laid so much as a finger on any of their hairs, he would kill him and anyone else involved.

Snow, much like Marali, was silently plotting a way to save both her family and their friends. She had a dreadful knot in her stomach over not being able to see what that monster was doing to her family, but if she had anything to do with it, it wouldn't be for long. She knew George must have a reason for keeping them all here, and separating them out, and that's what made all of them feel so uneasy.


	18. Visits

George was true to his word about each parent receiving an hour with each daughter each day. Before midday, Charming would spend around an hour with Emma and Snow with Marali. Then in late evening, they spend an hour with the other daughter. Through this, Snow and Charming were able to see how Marali's defiance towards George's men might get her into serious trouble. She was not coping well with this situation. She wanted to lash out. Just because she didn't have her magic didn't mean she couldn't hurt these bastards. A few days into their capture, Charming had gone into his evening visit with Marali to find her guard clearly about to strike her.

"Hey!" Charming called out. He wrenched his arm free of his own guard and darted forward, placing himself between the guard and Marali. "What's going on here."

"You clearly haven't taught your daughter any manners, so I was going to do it for you." The guard hissed.

"Come ahead you big oaf!" Marali called behind her dad's back.

"Marali." Charming warned her. He looked back at the guard. "I'm sure your king doesn't want any of us harmed unless he gives the orders. I'll deal with this." Charming told him. Marali's guard conferred with his.

"See that you do." Marali's guard barked.

"And if you ever break free from me again, you'll regret it, shepherd." Charming's guard warned him. "These little visits you have can easily be stopped." Charming bit his tongue. He knew George wanted them seeing the girls, probably just to make them hurt even more every time they had to leave them, but he decided now wasn't the best time to point that out. He pulled Marali back.

"Sit down." He told her gently. Marali stayed standing, growling at the two guards. "Marali, we don't have a lot of time. Sit, please." He asked her with urgency. Marali dragged her eyes away from the two brutes and sat down on the edge of her bed. Charming knelt down in front of her. He took her hands in his.

"Baby, I know this isn't easy for you. It isn't easy for any of us. But lashing out, getting cheeky, isn't going to help."

"It sure makes me feel better." Marali grumbled. She just felt so powerless just now. If all she could do was insult her stupid guard, then she would. "You keep telling me to have hope. That someone must be coming to rescue us, but I don't see anybody coming, dad. This is it. George is going to get the information that he wants and then he's going to kill us all." Marali said, defeated. Charming took her face in his hands. He wished he could make her feel more hopeful. He wished he felt more hopeful himself.

"Have faith." He told her. "Until then, be strong. None of our family is going to die. I won't let that happen. Don't let these guards get to you. Don't give them any ammunition to cause you pain. I can't bear seeing any of my girls hurt and not be able to do much about it. So please, I'm begging you princess, hold it in just now." Charming pleaded with her. Marali looked from her dad, to the guards, then back to her dad again.

"When we're free you're totally going to beat them up though, right?" She breathed just loudly enough for her dad to hear. He grinned at her.

"You can count on it." He promised her.

Whilst Marali wasn't coping in one way, Emma was struggling in her own way. She was absolutely terrified. Snow and Charming had tried to get more details out of her about what happened when she was taken, but she refused to give any details. She clamped right up whenever it was spoken about. Both parents hated leaving Emma in the room with that monster at her door, but what choice did they have? Emma kept herself in her little space between the bed and wall most of the day. Only when her parents were in the room with her did she feel safe enough to come out. Snow used her time with Emma to try and get her to sleep. Otherwise she'd spend all night in that little space.

"He keeps smiling at me, mama." Emma whispered that night. Snow kept humming to mask what her daughter was telling her. "It's scary."

"I know." Snow whispered, her hand going through Emma's hair. "Has he spoken to you?" Emma shook her head. Snow was at least grateful for that. George had clearly just stationed him here to intimidate Emma. "Good. You're being so brave, baby." Snow praised her.

"I don't feel very brave." Emma admitted. Snow gathered Emma into her arms.

"You are very brave." Snow told her. "My brave girl. This will all be over soon. I'm sure someone is working out a way to save us all. Close your eyes." Snow told her. Emma did as her mom asked. There was no way she'd be able to get to sleep if her mom wasn't here to help her. Emma felt herself becoming drowsy. It didn't take her long to fall asleep after that.

When Snow was confident Emma was asleep, she just rested her head on top of her baby girl's. How she hoped she was right with what she told her. She was worried Emma wouldn't last much longer under this strain.

"Time's up." A gruff voice called from the door. Snow wanted to plead for more time, to be able to wake up with Emma safely in her arms, but last time she had tried that her guard had yelled at her so loudly they woke up Emma. Snow didn't want to risk that happening again, so reluctantly, she kissed Emma's head and got up from the bed.

"Sweet dreams, my brave girl." Snow whispered, going back to her guard to be taken away to her own sleepless night.

Emma woke up the next morning. As usual, she was startled for just a moment that her mom wasn't still there. Then reality set back in and she remembered why. She was a prisoner in her own home. Emma sat up. She screamed. There was someone at the foot of her bed. She pushed herself against the back of her bed, terrified. George. Had he come to kill her.

"Good morning, princess." George sneered. He came forward, ignoring the little girl's terror. He grabbed her arm, and took off the magic preventing cuff. "I have some things for us to try this morning."


	19. George's plan

Emma looked between her now bare wrist and the twisted man who was holding her whole family captive. She was shaking she was so scared.

"I can't give you anything." Emma said timidly. "I don't have anything that I can give you. Please, just let us go. We'll leave you alone." Emma knew that part was a lie. As soon as her family got out of here, they would work out a way to take back their kingdom…but he didn't need to know that. George just sneered at her.

"My dear, you and your family are never leaving this castle alive again." He told her coldly. He either didn't notice, or didn't care, the way Emma's face paled when he said that. "But while I do keep you here, there are some things my men and I wish to find out. Some things you're going to help me with." Emma suddenly found her resolve growing.

"I'm not going to help you hurt anyone." She said boldly. She knew George well enough by now to know that's all he'd want.

"Oh yes you are." He told her. "Whether you want to or not. You see, I may be an old man, but my memory is still sharp as a tack. I haven't forgotten about your freakish fit of rage at my castle. Your magical temper tantrum. It happens when you get angry, doesn't it?" Emma didn't answer. She turned her head away. She heard George laugh. "So I'm right then. Excellent. Get out of bed." He ordered her. Emma ignored him. What else could he do to her. "Don't make me ask you again." He growled. Emma still ignored him. She suddenly felt to rough hands around her shoulders. She screamed and flailed about, but she was still dumped on the floor beside her bed. "Now stand up." George ordered her. Emma sat on the floor defiantly. She wasn't going to listen to this big bully. "If you do not stand up, I will have Simeon come in here and he can help you." George threatened her. Emma felt sick at this. Try as hard as she might, Simeon scared her. Unlike George, he clearly wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. So she stood up, but still refused to look George in the eye. George grinned, at least knowing he could get Emma to do as he asked. "Doesn't it make you mad, princess? Aren't you angry at me, knowing all your little friends are rotting away in my dungeon?" He tormented her. Emma took a few deep breaths. She knew what he was doing. He was deliberately provoking her to try and bring on an outburst. Well Emma wasn't going to help him. Clearly, he thought her magic might be of use to him somehow. Emma refused to be of use to a villain. Emma couldn't deny she was relieved at how short sighted George was being. He had only seen her having an outburst when she was angry at Simeon for trying to hurt her. He hadn't clued in that she wasn't only feeling angry when that happened. That fear worked just as well. George couldn't make Emma scared on his own. So all Emma had to do was control her temper. Besides, it made her feel kind of smug that she knew by not getting angry, she was making him furious. "Answer me." He ordered her. Emma smiled, and for the first time since he entered the room, she looked up at her family's captor.

"Of course what you're doing to them makes me mad." She told him. She caught the look of confusion and rage on his face. "Are you wondering why I haven't had an outburst since you took the cuff off me? Just because I'm mad doesn't mean I'll lose it completely. I know that's what you want me to do, and I don't give bad guys what they want. You can keep trying to get me mad, George, but it won't work. You're wasting your time. I know how to control myself. Want to know my secret? I keep thinking about what happens when we win this, because I know that one day we will. On that day, it'll be you that's left rotting in a dungeon. You can't make me mad when I already pity you." Emma could see the effect her words were having on him. She smiled triumphantly. George raised his hand, but just managed to restrain himself from slapping her. If he did that, then they both knew she one.

"You asked for this, remember that." He hissed right in her face before turning to Simeon at the door.

"Which parent is in a closer room?" He snapped. Simeon blinked. He wasn't used to George being so aggressive towards him.

"Um…her mother, why?"

"Go and fetch her." He ordered. Emma's face paled.

"Do you wish me to have her guard bring her…"

"No, if I wanted that I would have ordered that. I want you to fetch her." George snapped his fingers. Another guard rushed into the room. He looked back at Emma, who was already beginning to panic, seeing where this was going. "Restrain her." He ordered. The guard did as he was ordered. A few moments later, Simeon brought Snow into the room.

"What's going on?" Snow asked. She could see how distressed Emma looked. She saw that George was holding the band that prevented her magic. This had been what she was dreading ever since she and Charming learned that George knew about their daughters' magic. He was going to turn their daughters into weapons.


	20. A human weapon

"Hold the girl." George ordered the guard clutching tightly to Emma. He seemed hesitant. He knew what the end goal was here. "Don't worry, it's all in hand." He assured the guard. "She won't be able to hurt you."

"I make no such promise." Snow hissed. How dare they use her little girl like this! Didn't they realise how dangerous outbursts were for her?! Snow looked at Emma, trying to remain as calm as possible. "Emma, whatever they do to me, whatever they say, stay calm. Close your eyes. It'll all be over soon, baby…"

"Shut up." Simeon hissed. His hand flew across Snow's face. Snow winced, but didn't make a sound. She wouldn't give Simeon the satisfaction, and she didn't want to scare Emma more than she already was. She instead looked straight back at the man who had slapped her. Well, she said man. He couldn't be more than Marali's age. He was so young, yet clearly already so corrupt.

"Leave her alone!" Emma pleaded, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Please! I can't control my magic, it just happens sometimes!"

"That's not true though, is it princess?" George sneered. He came and stood beside where she was struggling against her guard's hold. "It doesn't just happen sometimes; it happens when you're angry. You weren't getting angry without help, so I thought I'd be nice and give you some with mommy." George pulled his sword out its cover. "Her head is going to look lovely mounted on my wall. Right next to your father's, of course. Not before I make them both suffer for all they have put me through. All the humiliation I endured. Simeon, do you want to give the princess a little demonstration of what's to come for mommy dearest?"

"With pleasure." Simeon answered. He then proceeded to wrap his fist around Snow's long raven hair. He yanked down hard so that Snow fell to her knees. "Bow before your king!" He barked at her. Snow stared up at George silently. He could put her through whatever he pleased, she would not show such defeat in front of Emma. Simeon kicked Snow in the back. "I said bow you little bitch!"

"Leave her alone!" Emma screamed. She could feel her hands beginning to tremble. George grinned. It was working.

"Do you want a taste of what little Emzy had before she freaked out on us in the dungeon? Huh?"

"LEAVE. HER. ALONE!" Emma screamed. Then there was no holding back. The magic began to pulse out of her. She screamed out in pain. There was no going back for her anymore.

"Emma!" Snow cried out. She looked at George. "Don't you know what you have done?! Emma can't control her magic, she told you! You're going to need to bring her sister in here. She's the only hope you have of leaving yourself alive." Snow told her. Her blood boiled as George just stood there and laughed. Didn't he understand the danger they were all in? Or the pain Emma was in? Instead, he pulled a little pouch out of his pocket.

"Your husband used this on one of my men when he broke into my palace to steal my prisoner." George explained. Snow bit her lip from responding that of course he broke in to save their little girl. "Poppy powder. Powerful stuff. Can knock anybody out at any given time." George looked back to Emma. "She's not nearly in full swing yet, is she? Dear me, this is a slow process. But still, I wouldn't want to get too close to her. Just as well I won't have to. Once I can assess how powerful she is, I'll knock her out and put the cuff back on. Yes, she will be useful. Take her back to her room, Simeon." Snow struggled against Simeon's hold.

"No please!" She begged. "When she's knocked out, she has no control. There can be blood, vomit. All manner of things. Sometimes she nearly chokes. Do your men really want to be cleaning all that up? Making sure she hasn't choked on her own vomit in the night? Let me stay with her until she's awake again." Snow pleaded. George thought this over.

"Just until she's awake." He snapped. He didn't want to risk her dying. Snow at least felt relieved about that. She couldn't sit in that room alone knowing Emma was recovering from an outburst.

"Please, end this now." Snow pleaded. "You can see how powerful she is already…"

"Quiet or all I'll change my mind." George warned her. With tears in her eyes, Snow silenced herself. She looked to Emma.

I'm here, baby. She thought. I will make him pay for this. Snow could then only watch on as George made her little girl struggle on until the very brink of them all being destroyed. He then pulled the powder out of the bag and blew it over to Emma, who immediately collapsed on a heap on the floor. Snow scrambled out of Simeon's grasp and over to Emma. She cradled her youngest in her arms, tears falling from her eyes. Heat was radiating off Emma.

"She needs a cold cloth." Snow demanded. "If you want to keep her alive you're going to have to listen to me." George then nodded to his guard who went to fetch the cloth.

By the time he returned with it, Snow had got Emma up into her bed and George and Simeon had left. Snow snatched the cloth from him and placed it on Emma's forehead. That was the last straw. Snow would not watch that monster hurt her children. She would demand that Charming still be allowed to see Emma, and that Marali come to since she was meant to see Snow. No matter how sneaky they had to be about it, they were working out a way out of this.


	21. A bittersweet reunion

The next morning, Snow demanded that Charming be allowed to come and see Emma as he was scheduled to. She also insisted that Marali be brought into the room so Snow could see her like she was meant to. George allowed this. He thought it might be good for the others to see just what he was capable of.

It was the first time Snow and Charming had been in contact since George had separated the family. Charming looked so gaunt. There were giant circles under his eyes. He had lost almost all colour from his face. He had heard the screaming from the room he was being held in. He had tried desperately to get out. He knew those screams belonged to Emma. He knew they were caused by her experiencing an outburst. It had taken seven guards to restrain him in the end. They had to knock him out. He had a lump on his head and a giant, nasty, purple bruise going down the right side of his face. He didn't care about any of that though. He cared about what they had put Emma through.

Snow's hair was lying limp around her shoulders. The toll of the strain the family was under was showing around her face. They looked at each other, doing their best not to show their fear in front of Marali.

Marali, meanwhile, was staring at Emma. This had been the first time she had seen her little sister in days. Much like Charming, Marali had heard Emma's screams the previous night. She hadn't been able to sleep afterwards. How could she? She knew what George was doing, she just wished she could get this damn cuff off so she could show him what happens when you mess with her little sister.

"Is she ok?" Charming croaked as he came over. He perched himself on the edge of Emma's bed and gently brushed some hair out of her face.

"She'll live." Snow answered him. "They stopped her before it got to full flow. I don't know what effect the poppy powder will have had on things." Snow looked up to Marali, who was standing a couple of feet away from the bed. She looked tense. She had seen Emma after an outburst before, but this was different. Snow held her free hand out to Marali.

"Come on over honey." Snow said gently. "It's ok." Marali didn't move. "Marali, please. We haven't got a lot of time before they take you both away. I'll only be allowed to stay with Emma until she's awake. Please, we won't get another opportunity like this." Marali understood what her mom was saying. Finally. They were planning their escape. Tentatively, Marali came and sat beside her mother. Charming glanced behind him to the guards at the door. They were watching carefully. They would have to be careful with what they said.

"She'll never see Marcus again." Snow said sadly. Charming and Marali were confused for a moment, until they both got the code behind the seemingly innocent message. _Regina's castle remains untouched. They don't know we're in danger_. Charming looked up at Snow. That was there hope, but how could they get in contact with her? Marali could feel the breeze coming through the open window.

"The birds are back from migrating." Marali commented. _Send a message on a bird_. Snow winked at her eldest. That was a brilliant idea. The only problem now was, how could Snow send a message on a bird? She couldn't exactly ask the guards for a scroll, a quill and some ink. Her eyes wandered around Emma's room, looking for anything that could help them. On Emma's bedside table was her little jewellery box. Inside were various little trinkets. Such as earrings. Snow didn't need a scroll or ink. She had her own blood. If she tore off a small strip from her clothing and cut her finger, she could write her message onto the strip and tie it to a bird.

"Yes, they are." Snow commented back. I'll need to listen to them more carefully tonight." Charming and Marali gave her small smiles. They knew that meant Snow was going to do it tonight. She would have a small window of opportunity. When the guards weren't looking, she would take an earring out of Emma's jewellery chest. Then at her allotted bathroom break she would tear off a strip of her clothing that wouldn't be visible to the guards and prick her finger, writing her message. When the guards were being changed over, she would quickly tie her message to a bird and have it fly to Regina's castle. They were getting out of here.

"Time's up." A gruff voice called. Charming and Marali reluctantly got off the bed. Charming kissed Emma's fevered forehead and then pulled Snow into his arms, holding her tight.

"Be careful." He murmured against her ear. "Don't get caught."

"I won't." She whispered back. She pulled back, passionately pressing her lips against his. She then turned to Marali, pulling her into her arms.

"It's all going to be over soon. We know that now." Snow promised her. Marali wasn't so sure. She still didn't really trust Regina.

Snow got back on the bed beside the still knocked out Emma. She draped an arm around her middle.

"He won't be able to hurt you again." She promised her, and she meant it.

Charming had his arm draped around Marali's shoulders as he then walked her out of Emma's room with the guards escorting them. They stopped at Marali's room. Charming bent down and hugged his daughter.

"She'll be fine." He whispered against her ear. "Your mum's still got it." Marali just smiled, but deep down she was terrified. Charming was taken off to the room he was being held in as Marali walked into her own room. She gasped in surprise at what was waiting for her inside.

"Hello, Marali, I thought it was time you and I had a proper talk." George said coldly.


	22. The plan is executed

Marali curled her hands into tight fists as she fought to restrain herself from physically attacking the cruel king. She might not have her magic, but she bet she could still give him some serious injuries to think about before his men could get a hold of her. George smiled at the fury on the young girl's face. He expected as much.

"I'm here to offer you a deal." He told her. Marali snorted in response. "Well that is very unmannerly for a princess, if I do say so." He sneered. "I guess I'll go see if your sister is awake then, shall I?"

"You don't go near her again." Marali growled. He had done enough damage to Emma. "I don't care about this stupid cuff. I don't care how many men you surround this room with. If I hear my little sister screaming like that again, I'm coming for you, and there won't be a force on this Earth that could stop me." George smirked at this. She had fire, he liked that. That was exactly where his evil game at chess was leading to. Marali's surrender was the real checkmate to him. Emma was just a lowly pawn, but a useful one, at that.

"That's why I'm here." George said quietly. "To offer you a deal. Your sister's magic is powerful; I'm wagering more powerful than your own. I like power." George allowed himself a cold chuckle. "But she cannot control it. She can be stopped before she is an immediate danger, but even that is not without its risks. And poppy powder isn't exactly easy to come by, and I can't be knocking her out every time she gets into full flow. She'd die before she was of any real use to me." Marali could feel her fingernails digging into the palm of her hand at that remark. "You, on the other hand, you're much more controlled. Yes, your magic isn't as strong as your sister's, but I don't have to rile you up to have you use it. You're capable of using it at will, whether you want to or not. The problem with that being, you're also capable of escaping much easier. So here is my deal to you, princess. I will let your family go. They will live in exile in an unknown location, if you willingly come and join my forces." George told her. "Otherwise, I continue with plan A. I use your sister, and the rest of you die." Marali felt her stomach plummet like a rock. She, of course, knew that George's time was nearly up. Her mom would send the message to Regina tonight, and her forces would be here within a couple of days. She just had to stall him until then.

"This isn't exactly an easy decision you're asking me to make." Marali pointed out. "Either I am responsible for the deaths of my parents and my little sister's suffering, or for the deaths and suffering of many more being your personal, wish free, genie. It's not a snap decision I can make. Give me three days…"

"Two." George snapped. "You have two days, princess. If you are undecided we go ahead with plan A. Choose wisely, princess." With that, George left Marali alone. Marali then sank back onto her bed, her head a mess. What was she to do?

Later that night, Snow lay in bed with a still unconscious Emma. She had managed to succeed in getting the message tied to her arm, and nobody had questioned the tiny cut on her finger. She was just waiting until the guards thought they were asleep and changed over. She could still see Simeon leering at them by the door. As Snow concentrated on him and trying to look asleep, she heard Emma give a little gasp. Her heart sped up. She was awake, she was ok. At the same time, however, Snow knew that if Emma gave away that she was awake the game was up, and Snow would also have to go back to not knowing what was happening to both her daughters at once. She surreptitiously moved her hand under Emma's middle until it found Emma's. She wrapped her hand loosely around her daughter's.

"Keep your eyes closed, pretend you're still unconscious or they'll make me leave." Snow breathed. Emma did as she was told. "Good girl. Squeeze my hand if you're ok." Snow felt a light squeeze on her hand. "I know you must be scared, we all are baby. He won't get away with what he's done to you, and it won't happen again. As soon as the guards begin to change over, I have a message to send to Regina. She'll come, Emma. She'll save us." Emma didn't respond, she didn't know how. Her head was thumping. She didn't want her mom to have to leave, so she would pretend to be unconscious for as long as possible.

Snow, meanwhile, stayed focused on both making sure Emma felt safe and listening for the guards changing over. As soon as she heard Simeon walk down the corridor talking to one of the other men, she sprang into action. She leapt out of Emma's bed and silently crossed to the window. As quietly as possible, she opened it open just enough for her hands to slip through. Peering out into the night sky, she saw one little blackbird sitting on a nearby branch.

"Psst." She called urgently. She crooked her finger in her direction when the bird cocked its head towards her. Snow nearly jumped for joy when it flew over and landed on her outstretched finger, but she stayed focused. She used her free hand to take the strip containing the SOS message and tied it to the bird's leg. "Take this to Regina. Go on now." Snow urged it. The bird flew off into the night air. Snow watched it go, wishing it to go as fast as its wings would carry it.

"Hey!" Snow's heart froze. "What are you doing by the window?" Snow's eyes flashed towards Emma, who remained frozen on the bed.

"My daughter's temperature is up. I was only opening the window a smidgen to try and get some fresh air into the room. I hardly think I'm going to leg it and leave my family at George's mercy." Snow said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she turned to face the guard. He did not look impressed. He was holding a torch close to her, she could see the anger on his face from its flickering light.

"Yeah, whatever. Just get back in the bed." He hissed, waving the torch too close to Snow. She pretended like it didn't faze her though, coolly getting back into bed beside Emma while the guard strutted back to the doorway. Snow could feel his eyes piercing her, so she daren't utter a word to Emma. Instead, she squeezed her hand lightly. _We're getting out of here_.


	23. Time's up

Over the next few days, the whole family was tense. Emma had held off for as long as she could on showing she was awake again, but eventually she had to. No matter how much Snow pleaded, she was sent back to her room, back to only being allowed to see each daughter for one hour a day…and not seeing Charming at all. Charming too was beyond frustrated with this whole situation. He hadn't seen George, and didn't know what he had planned. All Charming knew was that the second Regina arrived, Charming would have his head.

Meanwhile, Marali had a near impossible decision to make. Her time was running out to decide. Regina had to get here before she made her decision, otherwise there was nothing that could be done. Of course Marali would choose to save her family, but if George had them exiled before Regina got there, how would Marali be able to find them? Locator potions weren't great over long distances. Her only hope was to hold off for as long as possible on making a decision, but even then, her time went by in a flash.

George became impatient with Marali's clear attempts to stall on making a decision. He wanted rid of Charming one way or the other. He kept to his word, but as soon as her allotted time was up, he decided he would punish her for making him wait so long. So, without a word of warning to any of them, he had the family gathered in the throne room, where George sat on Charming's throne. Snow and Charming desperately wanted to gather Marali and Emma into their arms. They knew if they had weapons they were more than a match for any of George's men, but with their daughters here taking them on with hand to hand combat was far too risky. They just had to try and stay calm for their sakes. George smiled wickedly. He looked over to Marali.

"Stand." He ordered her. Trying her best to show no fear, Marali got up, even though her legs were shaking. Snow, Charming and Emma all looked between Marali and George, worried. "Have you come to a decision?" He asked her. Marali nodded.

"I have." She answered clearly.

"What?" Charming asked. "What decision? Marali, what has he asked you to do…"

"Silence." George demanded. "What have you decided?" Marali looked at her family apologetically. There had been no point in telling any of them. It wouldn't have changed anything. She stayed silent for a few moments, praying for a miracle. "Do not make me decide for you!" George bellowed.

"I'll do it." Marali told him, worried he was going to hurt her family. "Let them go…just let me say goodbye."

"What?!" Snow shouted. "Goodbye? We're not leaving Marali!" She started to struggle against the guards holding her, as did Charming. This had gone on long enough.

"You are." George hissed. "Me and the princess made a deal that secured your freedoms for her service." George explained cruelly to the parents. "I was going to let you say goodbye, but I don't think that will be a good idea, given your current behaviour. Guards! Take them to the carriage."

"No!" Marali said, struggling against her own bonds. "Please, I'll never see them again! Let me say goodbye…"

"No." George said coldly. "Your loyalties no longer lie with your family, they lie with me-"

Bang! George's head snapped up to the doorway. The doors had flown open. The family all looked round as well. Their hearts began to hammer in their chests.

"Sorry I'm late."


	24. Fighting back

Marali grinned. Her stalling had paid off. Regina had arrived just in time. Storming in behind Regina came a troop of her knights. Emma's heart warmed when she saw, there, right at the head of the troop, was Marcus. He caught Emma's eye briefly before going for one of George's men and smiled at her.

George was outraged to see the Evil Queen. She was meant to be a neutral outsider to everything that happened in Misthaven. It was no secret that she had buried that hatchet with the Charmings many years ago (unlike George) but their relationship still had the potential to be volatile. It was more like a dormant volcano than an extinct one. As furious as George was, he knew when he was outnumbered. He ran for the rear exit, but found it blocked by an invisible barricade. He turned to find the former Evil Queen smiling smugly at him.

"I thought you remained out of Misthaven's business." He said gruffly. "Their free, although I can't see why you'd want the couple that took your kingdom from you free, let me go." Regina laughed.

"You think I'm going to let you run Misthaven?" Regina laughed once more. "Don't be so stupid. I may not exactly like Snow and her Prince Charming, but at least I know they'll leave me be in peace and bring no trouble to my door. Providing you're out of the way. Getting involved in this mess is worth it if I never have to see your bald head ever again." Regina told him. George was livid. He had planned this so carefully for months. Surely it couldn't all be foiled now. His men were falling one by one to Regina's knights. They lay either dead on the throne room floor or captured and shackled. Soon, George was alone.

"Regina," Charming said, his eyes locked on George. "Can you please summon me my sword? I wish to deal with George myself." He growled. Regina nodded briskly before flicking her wrist. With a brief cloud of purple smoke, Charming found his sword in his hand. He kissed Snow briefly before slowly approaching George. Snow wasn't worried. She knew her husband was more than a match for George. She knew Charming would make him suffer for all he had done to them. Snow wrapped an arm around each daughter.

"You don't have to watch this, either of you." She said to them quietly. But both Marali and Emma continued to watch their father. They wanted to see George handed his justice as well.

"Draw your sword." Charming growled to George. George laughed.

"And if I don't?" He said, chuckling. "If I run? Would you have what it takes to stab a man in the back?" He questioned Charming. Charming shook his head.

"No, I wouldn't have what it takes to be that much of a coward." Charming spat. "There is nowhere for you to run, George. Regina has created a barrier around this whole room. Can you not see it?" Now that George looked around, he could just about make out the faint shimmer of Regina's magic blocking off any possible escape route for him. He was trapped. Charming smiled as he saw George realise his fate. "Draw your sword, George. I will give you a fair fight, but you will lose. You kidnapped me and my family and held us hostage in our own home. You tried to use my children as weapons. You caused one unimaginable pain and tried to blackmail the other. That will not go unpunished. Draw your sword, George. Draw your sword and face your end like a man." George knew he had to fight, but that didn't mean he wouldn't fight dirty. He quickly drew his sword and swiped at Charming's chest. Charming leaped back, expecting George's underhand tactics. George might be a dirty fighter who didn't play by any rules, but Charming was both stronger and faster than he was. With minimal effort he was able to force George into the corner, disarmed, with his sword pressed against his throat. George smiled at him.

"You're not going to kill me." He said. "Not in front of your family." He called his bluff. Charming scowled at him.

"That's where you're wrong." Charming hissed. With one swift move, his sword was plunged into George's middle. "I won't let you live in front of my family." He whispered into George's ear as, with a strangled cry, his life left him. Charming felt no guilt. He had given George a fair fight, which is more than George would have ever given him. He had threatened and hurt his family, this was the only way this was ever going to end.

Charming pulled his sword out of George and dropped it to the floor. As it clattered against the stone, Charming turned to his family. He walked towards them, wrapping his arms around all of his girls. This was finally over.

 _So we're not quite done yet, but the next chapter will be the last :)._


	25. The end

_Well, here it is, the final chapter of the story. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with it and for all the kind reviews. Although this story has come to an end, please do continue to read and (hopefully) enjoy Our Charming family, where requests are always gratefully accepted. I have plans for another multi chapter story, but it probably won't be for a long while yet, if I ever get the chance to do it :). Well, happy reading! JMAMK._

It was hard for all four members of the royal family to believe their fight was finally over. George had been defeated, he was dead. His men had scattered at his downfall and both Snow and Charming were sceptical that any of them would ever darken Misthaven with their shadows ever again. It had been a long battle for the family, as well as everyone else in the kingdom, now was a time for mourning the losses they had all suffered and picking themselves back up again.

The family broke apart from their hug and turned to Regina. Snow smiled gratefully at her stepmother.

"You saved our lives, Regina. We won't let that go unnoticed. Everyone in the kingdom will hear about how heroic you have been today." Snow assured her. Regina grimaced at the idea of being known as a hero, but Snow could see the pride behind her disgusted façade. Charming entwined his fingers with Snow's in a sign of solidarity. He agreed with her that Regina should be given recognition for what she had done to save their family. Regina still thought peasants would run in the opposite direction when they saw her coming, hero label or not.

"Your daughters still have those cuffs on their wrists." Regina said, moving the conversation on. "I can get them off." Marali eagerly stepped forward, holding out the cuffed wrist to the woman she had not so long ago so heavily distrusted. Emma, on the other and, hung back, more hesitant. With ease, Regina waved her hand over Marali's wrist and the cuff snapped in two, both halves crashing to the ground.

"Your turn, Emma." Charming said, urging Emma forward. She shook her head, hiding her hand behind her back.

"Come on Em, it doesn't hurt." Marali encouraged her, holding out her own hand to show that no damage had come to it. "It just takes a second."

"I don't want it off though." Emma piped up. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"You don't want the cuff off?" Snow asked her. Emma nodded. "Why?"

"I feel safer with it on. My magic sucks. Every time I get angry or scared I explode. It's painful, and one day, it could get someone killed. I'm safer with it still on, and so are everyone else." Snow and Charming hated that Emma thought that about herself. She wasn't some liability, or a ticking time bomb, she was their daughter. She shouldn't have to feel like she has to hide part of who she is.

"Emma, your magic isn't as wild as you all think it is. Yes, it is clearly heavily linked with your emotion, but that doesn't mean it can't be controlled. Your emotions belong to you, Emma. As do these powers. If you trust yourself more, with a little help, you can be in control of them. But if it makes you feel more secure, why don't we take the cuff off without breaking it? That way, if you feel one of your outbursts coming on, you can put it back on and stop it." Regina suggested. Emma thought about this for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Will you teach me how to control it?" She asked Regina. Despite herself, Regina smiled, touched. The smile only lasted for a few seconds before it faded, but long enough for Snow and Charming to notice it.

"Of course." Regina offered coolly. Once upon a time, Emma might have been daunted by Regina's passiveness, but now, like her parents, Emma saw the loving person hidden underneath. Snow noticed that her eyes had drifted past Regina, right over her shoulder to one particular young knight. A young knight who was staring back at her.

"Go on." Snow whispered, nudging Emma in his direction. Her cheeks went pink. "Don't act all shy now. He's come here because he wanted to rescue you. If you can't think of anything else to say just thank him." Snow prompted her. Emma nodded, walking off to talk to Marcus. Snow felt Charming stiffen beside her. He clearly was still uneasy about either of his girls talking to boys. Snow chuckled lightly beside him.

"Don't be nervous. We raised them well. Emma can handle herself easily. Besides, he seems like a good young man." Snow stuck up for her daughter's potential suitor. Charming just snorted, but Snow could tell he was softening to the idea.

Meanwhile, Charming watched as Marali nervously approached Regina herself. He could tell from her hand gestures that she was asking if Regina would give her a few tips as well. Snow followed his gaze and smiled. Snow rested her head against Charming's shoulder, who in return wrapped an arm around Snow. Things were coming together again. George was defeated. Regina had certified her allegiance to good and had proven herself by rescuing the Charmings and their allies from the dungeon George had held them in. The dark times were finally over, and now the family could enjoy the light.

 _The end._


End file.
